The Only Thing Worth Living For Is Death
by ItachiXSasukeXForever
Summary: After their parents deaths, two brothers must deal with the building guilt, both secluding themselves. Can they save each other before it's too late? ItaSasu. - WARNING DRUG ABUSE -
1. Prologue The burning

Well, here's to (hopefully) good beginnings! I don't own Naruto in any way, shape, form or fashion; besides, I think it's perfectly fine being owned by someone else. _ I'd ruin it the first day I had it.

**:: ::**

**Prologue – The Burning**

He coughed violently, trying to keep the smoke out of his eyes. His eyes were watering so bad, he could hardly make out where he was heading. He pushed himself further still, determined to make it in time.

Fire burned all around him, destroying everything he held dear to him. He vaguely made out a family photo, burning and crinkling in the fire. Curtains fell, floorboards strained from the stress, expanding, contracting, and ready to give in. Carpet was now black ash, yet he continued, coughing, pushing, forcing himself onward, away from the only escape route, determined to go.

His feet kicked the bottom of the stairs. He knew he was unable to climb them, so he crawled up them. Every stair-step was a step further into the ever-climbing smoke, putting pressure on his lungs. He could barely breathe, yet he forced himself upwards, further still. He remembered racing up these very stairs, laughing as he went, counting them. He forced upwards onto the ninth step, subconsciously knowing that there were only four left.

When he finally reached the top, he became aware of the state he was in. Burn marks ran up and down his clothes, as well as his arms. He heaved heavy breaths, yet could not feel any relief from the breathing. He felt the burning ashes all over him, in his eyes, in his lungs, burning him from the inside-out.

He was aware that he would not live through this. He didn't care, either.

He pushed himself up, stumbling from the weight forced back onto his legs. Slowly, he managed to walk down the hall. The only thought running through his head, as he watched the walls burn, floorboards cave in, as he heard his only home fall into what seemed the very pit of hell itself, the one thought running through his head…

'I have to make it…'

His vision was almost completely gone now. He felt his way down the hall, holding himself up right. He felt the sharp pains of burning metal against his hands, signaling a door knob. Yet he knew this door would get him nowhere. He had to go further.

Further into the chasm of nothingness. Into the burning pit of hell. Some place he knew he would not return from. But he had to go on.

Finally, he became aware of the door to his left. He had finally made it. Still coughing violently, and still unable to breathe, he used the last of his strength, opening the door.

His eyes widened with fear.

Fire had already turned this room to ash. Nothing remained of the bed, clothes, furniture… except…

A lump… No… A body… crumpled up in the middle of the room.

His heart stopped beating, his brain no longer functioning. The former thought died out, followed by another…

'I'm… too late…'

His legs gave in, his eyes watering from something other than smoke. One word was on his mind, repeating itself. One word that boiled, burning, engulfing the rest of his body in pain. Finally, after all that pain, suffering, all that work, he knew he was too late…

With his final breath, came his final word. The thought boiled, until it could burn him no more. His mouth opened, and he screamed, louder than he ever had before.

"SASUKE!"

"God, Itachi, shut UP!"

**:: ::**

Itachi shot up in bed, breathing heavily, sweat covering his entire body. He blinked, confused about his surroundings. He didn't understand how…

The sound of a baby crying came from near-by, disrupting his thoughts.

"Nice going, kid. You woke it up." Itachi jumped, his eyes resting upon a grouchy-looking man, who looked to be in his late 30's. The man rolled his eyes at him, storming out of the room.

Itachi sighed heavily, then shivered. He pulled his legs up to his chest, resting his head on them.

"That's right… Just a nightmare…" He closed his eyes, worrying over his little brother. Fate had been cruel enough to take away their family… But that hadn't been the end of their suffering…

Sasuke, who was still only nine years old, was separated from Itachi. Itachi, being twelve, could handle the situation, at least enough to make everyone think he was okay. But Sasuke…

Itachi's eyes watered. His little brother had been so scared by the fire… Then, Itachi had to tell him their parents didn't make it. He still remembered Sasuke's face; it was burned into his memory.

To top it all off, he had to watch Sasuke get into some stranger's car, and watch him cry as he was driven away. He just hoped the foster home Sasuke was at currently was better than the one he was at.

**:: ::**

A few months after this happened, a man named Madara Uchiha came to take Itachi to live with him. Itachi vaguely remembered his 'Uncle Toby', but was thrilled at the opportunity to leave his foster home.

Sasuke was in the car, waiting for him. He cried, of course, happy to see his aniki (big brother). Itachi just smiled, happy to see Sasuke as well, deciding to take his guilt to the grave…


	2. Chapter 1 Off to School

Don't own Naruto, as usual. Still don't want it though Nya~

**:: ::**

**Chapter 1 – Off to School**

Itachi groaned at the loud beeping sound that had woke him from his slumber. He pressed the off button, yawning and stretching, deciding to destroy the alarm clock the next time it went off.

Stumbling out of bed, Itachi did his normal daily routine: shower, dress, food, brush teeth. It usually took him over 30 minutes to get ready for anything; then again, he didn't usually sleep at all during the night. It seemed 2 hours of sleep could save him over 20 minutes in the long run. Itachi inwardly decided to try to sleep more often.

He wandered around the house, cleaning up here and there to pass the time. He went to the kitchen to make breakfast, being sure to make some for the both of them – the other person being, of course, his otouto (little brother). It was only when he was sitting on the couch, done for the time being, that he heard the sounds upstairs of someone else getting out of bed.

He rolled his eyes as his otouto, Sasuke, stumbled downstairs.

"Good morning, Sasuke," Itachi said pleasantly. Sasuke's retort was a death glare that Hitler would run from. Itachi simply smiled in return. "I made breakfast; it is still warm. Your plate is on the table." Sasuke's response was typical for him. "Hn."

Sasuke took his time eating, as usual, and returned upstairs to gather his stuff. Itachi just waited patiently, deciding not to mess with him, even if it was taking him an eternity to get ready. After all, it was Sasuke's first official day of being a sophomore.

Itachi sighed, closing his eyes and relaxing into the sofa. He just couldn't believe it. Sasuke, his little brother, was 15… 15! He had grown so much, too…

Six years…and Sasuke had changed so much. No matter what his former feelings had been, Itachi was sure their father would have been so proud of Sasuke. He had never once made below an A+ in any of his classes, was at the top of most of them, excelled in any sport he committed himself to, and was a very intelligent individual. If only their father could see him now…

"Are we leaving? Ever?" Itachi opened his eyes, waking from his deep thoughts. Sasuke just stood there, staring at him expectantly. Itachi sighed, getting up from the sofa, wishing inwardly to be in his bed at that moment, and not about to go back to that dreadful place where he had to go to get an 'education'. Where there not other places to do this?

"Yeah, we should probably leave now. We do not want to be late our first day back, now do we?" Itachi didn't wait for an answer – he was pretty sure it would have either been another glare or a "Hn" – walking outside towards his car.

The drive to school was silent, as usual, except for Itachi's futile attempts at polite conversation, which was always followed by Sasuke's trademark "Hn" for an answer.

"You really should learn how to say something other than 'Hn', Sasuke." Itachi pulled into the school parking lot, stopping a row away from the school. He managed to catch Sasuke's death glare in his peripheral, but he ignored it, smiling slightly to himself at his otouto's attempt at looking intimidating. Sadly for little Sasuke, he could never be intimidating to a person he used to curl up to from fright of thunder storms in the middle of the night.

They got out of the car slowly, both dreading the day to come, and made their way to the 'crowded' cafeteria. The table they always sat at was at the very end of the cafeteria, yet they could hear their friends all the way at the front of the school. (It was rather odd for them to have such loud friends, since they themselves were always so quiet. Then again, they do say that opposites attract, do they not?)

Well, Itachi had friend there, anyway. He sat down next to Kisame Hoshigaki, a really pale guy with blue hair, who immediately starting going on about guppies.

Kisame had been Itachi's friend for a few years, so Itachi knew him pretty well. He greatly enjoyed other people's pain, often inflicting it upon them – other than Itachi or Sasuke, of course. Almost everyone at that school knew better than to mess with either of those two – and was one of the only people there that managed to tower over the elder brother. (He had also been born with some disease that turned his skin a pale blue-ish color, and was born with rather sharp teeth, which is why he earned his titles 'Predator' and 'Shark Man'… That, and the fact that he really did enjoy torturing people…)

Sasuke sighed rather unhappily, greatly unpleased with his life. Due to Itachi sitting next to Kisame – which had, unfortunately, not been next to another empty seat – Sasuke had only one seat to choose from that would allow him access to conversation with his aniki (He really hated to admit it, but he rather enjoyed talking with his 'nii-san'). He sat down, glaring at nothing in particular rather evilly, and decided that today was already a rather horrible day for him.

"Sasuke! It's so good to see you again! I do hope you had a good summer," Sakura Haruno, a girl about Sasuke's age with pink hair, seated to Sasuke's left, spoke up. She was a little shorter than Sasuke, and had sworn her love to him when they were 10. Her high pitched voice had always grated on his nerves, and her green eyes sent shivers of disgust down his spine.

"I really hope we have a lot of classes together this year! Maybe we'll even hall _all_ of them together!" Ino Yamanaka, a girl also Sasuke's age with long, blonde hair, seated to Sasuke's right, spoke up as well. She had also sworn her love to Sasuke, the same day Sakura had, and that had created a rivalry between the two fan girls. This 'justified' the reason Sakura glared at Ino after she spoke up to Sasuke.

"Like _that_ will ever happen. Sasuke will have all of his classes with me!"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. I don't think he'd fit with your fat, ugly head in there!"

Sasuke glared harder, almost as if he was trying desperately to destroy the wall with his gaze. He wished with all of his might that it was possible to just walk away from this; sadly, he knew they would just follow him, like they always did. Their nasally, high pitched voices slammed into his brain, giving him another migraine. He was really finding it hard to ignore them, which annoyed him to no end; of course, there was never a time when he had found it easy…

He was absorbed in his concentration, rather close to glaring a hole into the wall adjacent him, when the person in front of him interrupted the process. The boy slammed his hands on the table, making Sasuke jump up and glance over in alarm.

"There is no way you're beating me this year, Sasuke, Believe It!"

"Naruto, shut up and leave Sasuke alone! He will so beat you!" Sakura stood up, glaring at Naruto Uzumaki, a blonde-haired guy about Sasuke's age.

Naruto had always been quick to pick a fight with anyone, and had always envied Sasuke – mostly because he was always besting him at everything, and a little because Naruto had a crush on Sakura. Because of all of this jealousy, Naruto had deemed Sasuke his rival, though secretly they both considered each other good friends. They tended to keep that part on the down low, of course…

"Naruto, you're on," Sasuke said calmly, the menace of rivalry in his gaze. Sasuke didn't plan on letting Naruto beat him; he hadn't last year, and he certainly wasn't going to this year. Besides, thinking of their rivalry always proved to be a nice distraction from his fans.

Itachi shook his head, watching his otouto get into a heated argument with Naruto – heated as in Naruto yelled at Sasuke a little, and Sasuke would throw out a "Hn" and very seldom an insult. He recalled that they had always fought like this; their after school Ishinryu class was just adding fuel to that fire. Then again, it seemed Sasuke would talk to Naruto about anything, though he wouldn't admit it. The elder brother chuckled, shaking his head at his otouto. 'Always pretending to be so cold, Sasuke.'

The bell rang then, making crowds of people all stand up at once, invading each other's personal space while reacting for their things. Itachi reached for his stuff, quite happy to be leaving the crowdedness of the cafeteria. But before anyone could leave, the intercom came on, telling them to remain in the cafeteria for the time being.

"Seniors, you may now come to the office to get your schedules."

Itachi saluted sarcastically at Sasuke, who, in return, glared blood-bathed daggers into the back of his aniki's head as he went to get his schedule. He looked around him at his fan girls and rival, the people who he had now been abandoned with, and decided that maybe suicide wasn't that bad of an idea after all.

Itachi made his way to the office, and then waited patiently for the principal, Tsunade, to call his name. Sadly, she was going in alphabetical order, so it would no doubt be a while.

"I wish she'd hurry up already. I have better things to do with my time than stand here all day." Itachi glanced up at Kisame.

"What would that be, exactly?" Kisame smirked, pulling off the menacing evil look rather well.

"There is a new batch of freshman this year." Itachi rolled his eyes at him.

"What will you do with your time when you are out of school? All you do now is torture the freshman." Itachi looked back up at him, awaiting an answer, and then looked away, ashamed of the fact that he actually called Kisame his friend. This so called "friend" had been too busy plotting to even notice Itachi had said anything at all.

"Hoshigaki, Kisame." Kisame snapped out of his fantasies of torture, realizing it was his turn. "Time to have some fun. I'm getting into this," Kisame smirked evilly, clearly not able to hold his enthusiasm in, got his schedule and left, leaving Itachi to wait alone.

"Keitaro, Amaya." Some girl Itachi didn't recognize walked up and got her schedule, bounding away to her first classroom. Itachi stared up into space, wishing he was elsewhere. Anywhere else would have been nice. Perhaps home… nah, to boring and usual. A theme park would have been nice. Some place he didn't go very often…

"Kururugi, Suzaku."

'Then again, Sasuke is not too fond of crowds… Or people, for that matter… Theme parks are out of the question…' Itachi sighed unhappily, remembering the last time he had taken his otouto to a theme park… It hadn't ended well for the poor little child who had insulted Sasuke. Of course, that had been about 5 years ago. Perhaps he could have fun going now…?

The thoughts of Sasuke made Itachi wonder briefly how he was faring against his fan girls. Then again, he did have Naruto to keep him company. 'There is no doubt in my mind now; he definitely wants to kill himself.' Itachi chuckled inwardly at that thought; he could just see his brother sitting there, Sakura and Naruto shouting on either side of him at each other. He almost wished he were back there, if only to keep him company…

"Miyuki, Ayame."

People shoved closer, making room in the hallway grow thinner and thinner. Impatience was thick in the air. Itachi was unsure of what the big hurry was. Once they got their schedule, it would just mean they would be off somewhere else. Everyone was going to end up in the same place; why worry about getting there before everyone else?

"Miyuki, Sosuke."

Itachi began to wander in his mind, pondering rather random things to pass the time. 'Why does Sasuke seldom talk in this day and age? What made him turn out so unsocial? He used to talk to everyone that he saw… Did someone bully him for talking too much or being too friendly? Did I not pay enough attention to him one day? Where does Uncle Toby get all of his money? Did he kill a millionaire, or did he just win the lottery one day? Or maybe he is the leader of a gang that puts hits out on wanted people, that also runs a whore house out in Ireland, steals cars from the poor to help the rich get more money, shots random people who walk by out of the sheer joy of watching people suffer, wears black cloaks with red clouds all over them, kidnaps movie stars to rape and murder them just to fall asleep to their delicious screaming.' Itachi stopped, horrified. '…Nah.' He shook his head, amazed at his incredible imagination.

"Nalane, Isuki."

'Why does Kisame go on about guppies?' …Itachi spent at least 5 minutes pondering the answer to this question, shook his head, and went on.

"Ryuka, Hajime."

'Why does that blonde Sasuke always hangs out with – Naruto, that is his name… Why does he always scream "Believe it!" at everything? Is there a point to his nonstop babbling, or does he just really enjoy the sound of his own voice? Why does Sasuke even hang around him to begin with? If I remember correctly, he does not seem to like him much, if any at all… For that matter, why does he hang around Sakura? I _know_ he hates her, yet he sits next to her in the cafeteria… It makes no sense…'

"Sabanogi, Hidan."

Itachi vaguely heard Hidan mutter a prayer to Jashin as he went by. Itachi's eyes narrowed at him in curiosity, his thoughts quickly adjusting to his newly found target of thought. 'Why is Hidan so obsessed with Jashin? What started this crazy religion? …Has Hidan ever really sacrificed something _to_ Jashin?' He reconsidered his question quickly. 'Has Hidan ever sacrificed some_**one **_to Jashin?' He shuddered, not doubting the answer to that one even a tiny bit.

"Uchiha, Itachi."

'Finally.' Itachi's patience was done being tested, so he walked forward and accepted his schedule happily, relieved to be able to go on with his life at last. He was walking down the hall towards his homeroom class, glancing over his schedule, when he saw it.

And froze.

"When… did I sign up for Psychology?"

**:: ::**

Things are getting a little more detailed, but the important stuff is still to come. _ Sorry for such a short chapter…


	3. Chapter 2 Sasuke's Decision

Once again, I do not own Naruto. I guess you understand by now that I don't want it though.

**:: ::**

**Chapter 2 – Sasuke's Decision**

Sasuke had already thought of over 100 ways to kill himself. He couldn't believe he had been left here alone with these idiots! They were always fighting over him; and when the fighting wasn't _over_ him, it was _about_ him! He sighed, completely unmoved by their quarrelling. Because of his hatred of their voices, it took him a few minutes to realize that they were all sitting in silence. He signed in his head, save this time it was from relief. He reveled in the peace and quiet; sadly, his relief was shortly lived.

"Just face it, Ino! Sasuke-kun is mine!"

"No, you fat ass, he's mine!"

"As if!"

Sasuke groaned inwardly, wishing with every ounce of his body that they would just die and go to hell. Maybe then he could have some peace and quiet away from their constant babbling over nothing – aka, himself.

What did they even see in him, anyway? He always ignored them; either that, or glared as evilly as he possibly could. Maybe he wasn't getting the evil glare down very well… Sasuke sighed, deciding he would quiz Itachi on how to glare the next time he saw him. After all, Itachi did seem to be the master when it came down to looking down right menacing. He was worse than Lady Tsunade, for crying out loud!

Sasuke glanced over at the two girls who continued to fight over who owned him. 'It's like I'm a fucking possession to these people. Since when did I stop being a person?'

'I think I know the answer to that one.'

Sasuke froze. Chills ran down his spine. It couldn't be… No. It wasn't. Sasuke shook himself, laughing inwardly. He was just hearing things. He had taken care of that problem; it wasn't coming back. He was sure of it…

Or… maybe…

He shut his thoughts off there, refusing to think any further. There was no need to freak himself out the first day back at school, especially for a silly reason like that. No reason at all…

"Juniors, please report to the office to get your schedules." Sasuke looked up, watching a grand total of four students get up to leave. His eye started twitching a tiny bit; he very lightly slapped himself in the face to make it stop, which, of course, only made it twitch even more. '…I hate my life…' He sighed, once again turning towards the table that was now his hell.

"Hey, Sasuke." He looked up at the person who was addressing him – aka, Naruto. "When do we start up practice, anyway?"

"And why do you think I would know that answer?" Naruto gave him a look of utter ignorance; Sasuke sighed, rubbing his temples. 'I'm going to have chronic migraines by the time this year is over.' "In case you don't realize this, baka, this is my first day back as much as it is yours. You have as much information as I do."

"Oh, yeah…" Naruto looked off somewhere else, no doubt either thinking of ramen or coming up with some futile plan to win Sakura's heart away from Sasuke… Who didn't want it in the first place, might I add.

Sasuke sighed again, then paused. 'Why the hell do I keep sighing?' He shook his head, impatiently looking around. He growled to himself. 'What the fuck is taking so long, anyway? I mean, its not lik-'

"Hello, Sasuke."

Sasuke froze, hoping the person behind him wasn't who he knew it was. He sat there, waiting for his heart to stop messing with his head, waiting for his lungs to start working again. It took an eternity in his mind – though it was only a few seconds in reality – he finally calmed himself down enough to turn around, facing his fears, hoping for once in his life he was going to be lucky.

Alas, the fates were indeed cruel, and today was no exception for that. Shino Aburame, who had been standing behind Sasuke only a moment before, sat down next to him, making himself comfortable. He wore a sandy-tan trench coat – as usual; he wasn't ever seen without one on, even if it happened to be of a different color – with the hood pulled up over his head. The shirt he wore under the coat was black, typical for Shino, with the collar coming up and covering most of his face, taking the term "Bad-ass neck collar" to a whole new meaning. He also wore pitch-black sunglasses, completely blocking out his eyes, and also making many believe he was actually blind – which, of course, was just bullshit, but you couldn't really blame them for thinking this.

With his looks and demeanor, Shino really did seem like he could have been a drug dealer.

Silence fell at all sides of them; even Ino and Sakura shut up, which was quite amazing for the two of them. All eyes fell upon Shino, as if his arrival meant something enormous or astounding was about to happen… or something grave. As everyone stared in his direction, he finally made up his mind to say what he needed to.

"It was the best butter." Shino got up, walking away.

Everyone just stared at his receding back… Everyone but Sasuke, that is. Sasuke's face had turned paler than his normal white; it seemed he really was the only one there who knew the meaning behind those cursed, hideous words.

"What the hell was that all about, anyway?" Naruto, of course, is the one to speak up. Sakura and Ino nodded in agreement; Sasuke stared off elsewhere, preparing himself mentally for the hell he would soon put himself through. "What does 'It was the best butter' mean? Or… does it even have a meaning?" Naruto shook his head, really trying his hardest to come up with a logical reason for someone to walk over to a table, say that sentence, and then just walk away that calmly, like he hadn't just said the most idiotic phrase in the English language.

Sasuke continued to stare at the table, unsure of what to do. The urge to be sick washed over him, so thick that he almost couldn't control it. He managed to push it down luckily, forcing his body not to start shaking like he knew it wanted to.

He knew he had two choices now: Betray his aniki's trust some more and hope he didn't find out, or he could resist the urge to betray his beloved aniki, making it impossible for him not to find out.

"…Do you think he's high?"

"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura glared at him. "No one asked you to begin with!"

"Hey, Sasuke," Ino spoke up, making Sasuke come close to jumping from surprise, "Do you know what Shino was talking about just now?"

Sasuke turned, glaring at her enough to actually make her flinch. "How the hell would I know that?" He stood up abruptly, grabbed his stuff, and began to walk away.

"But, Sasuke! They haven't even called our gra-" Sakura was interrupted by a glare. She sat back down slowly, deciding for the first time in her life that the best choice was to keep away from Sasuke.

Sasuke walked out of the cafeteria, unsure of where he was headed. It was at this time, when he needed someone to talk to more than ever, he found himself alone, unable to think of even one person who could help him. Sasuke had never felt so alone in his life before this moment.

He found himself in the bathroom, standing in front of a sink. He turned on the water with a sigh, splashing cold water on his face, hoping it would calm him down. When he looked up, the person he hated more than anything else stared back at him. They both stood there, glaring at each other, both of them refusing to back down from this fight.

'You don't need anyone, Sasuke Uchiha. Since when have you, of all people, been so damn weak to be called dependent?'

He continued to glare at his own reflection, then felt his face fall down in defeat. He then made his way slowly out of the bathroom, disgusted with himself, utterly ashamed of his final decision.


	4. Chapter 3 Just Overreacting

Naruto belongs to someone else! _ And I'd prefer it to stay that way. Though it's fun to make the characters your puppets, no? X3 Let's see what I can make them do in this chapter!

**:: ::**

**Chapter 3 – Just Overreacting…**

"It does feel rather nice to be back in school. Perhaps it is just the routine I missed… Then again, I do find it pleasant to get an education every once in a while," Itachi spoke to his otouto as they walked away from the school towards Itachi's car. After getting their schedules earlier, everyone had gone to their homerooms and listened to the school rules, drills, and regulations; all together, it was a pretty boring and typical first day back.

Though he had gotten his schedule at least three hours ago, Sasuke hadn't even glanced at it the whole time, nor had he looked up from the ground since he noticed Itachi walking towards him. He just couldn't bring himself to face him, not so soon after…

"I really wish Kisame would stop torturing freshman. In reality, I would not doubt it if he ended up killing one this year. There are only two of them…" Itachi frowned, losing himself momentarily in his distractive thoughts.

'He does trust you, you know.' Sasuke's own voice spoke up in his thoughts. He stopped walking forward, his eyes widening with fright and disbelief at what he had just heard.

'No… I-I…. Not…. Not…. Not you!' A chuckle sounded throughout his head, making him visibly shiver. The sound itself was so cold, so heartless it made his lungs fill with air that would compete with the coldness of winter. He could swear he even saw his own breath. He felt so cold, empty, afraid, and-

- "…and Hidan threatened to sacrifice three juniors to Jashin _already._ Sad part is I really would not be surprised if he followed through with those threats." Itachi shook his head, momentarily going through the scenario in his mind. "I am not sure if there is any help for that man."

'He'll be so disappointed. Do you think he would ever speak to you if he found out?'

'Stop it.' Sasuke shook slightly, trying vainly to calm himself down.

'I don't think he would even look at you.'

'I said stop it.'

"…that he was not there today. Then again, it is Sasori. It is just like him not to show up the first day." Itachi continued musing, not realizing that his otouto was no longer walking behind him.

'What would you ever do without your 'aniki', Sasuke? The last person in your family, turning their back on you.'

'Stop…'

'Then again, you turned your back on him first.'

'…onegai…'

Itachi stared at his otouto, frowning. 'He looks so distressed… School cannot be doing that to him already… can it? The last time he looked that upset was…' Itachi shook his head, clearing his thoughts to think. 'Now that I think about it, he has _never_ looked that upset before… At least, not that I have ever seen…'

Not knowing what else to do, and realizing how silly Sasuke would look to anyone else, Itachi decided to halt Sasuke's depression before it got any worse. "Sasuke…?"

"What?" Sasuke looked up at Itachi, his face immediately changing from distressed to his normal monotonous self once more.

'First betrayal, then lies. What will you put him through next, Sasuke?'

Itachi stared at him for a little while longer, concentrating on Sasuke's eyes, fixating deep into them, reading everything he could out of them; black pits of emptiness and walls made of steel stared back at him, making it evident the younger wanted nothing to be revealed. Itachi shook his head, deciding to leave Sasuke's secrets to Sasuke; if they became a problem, he would tell his aniki, like he always had.

"Nothing, Sasuke. But… Perhaps you should start walking, instead of standing in the middle of the parking lot. It would be a real shame if you were run over our first day back, would it not?" Itachi began to walk again, once more heading towards his car. Sasuke sighed, following his aniki.

When they both reached the car, Itachi hesitated in unlocking it, staring at his otouto, contemplating whether it was wise to ignore how distressed he had looked earlier. 'Sasuke is not the type to worry others; whether it be from not liking them, or just because he would rather not bother them. Perhaps talking to him would do him some good…' Itachi frowned. 'Then again, it could also piss him off…'

Itachi shrugged, deciding the risk was worth it; you had to live with a little excitement every once in a while, right? "Hey, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "What is it, Itachi?" He forced his face to remain static, a task that he was finding to be more and more difficult each time it was performed – an odd fact, indeed, seeing as he used to effortlessly keep the same face on at all hours of the day. It seems times were beginning to change for him now. Nonetheless, he placed that shield on his face once more, determined not to let his nii-san get even a glimpse of the monster that lay behind those eyes.

Itachi stared across the car, more convinced than ever that his brother was alright. He sighed, shaking his head, smiling at his own silliness. 'This is Sasuke, you must remember that. He is not a child anymore. This is not the same otouto that used to curl up next to you in the middle of the night, cowering away from the darkness. He has changed, he is stronger now. He can take care of himself just fine. Stop worrying yourself over nothing.'

"You….were just a little…too silent. I was simply making sure you were okay." Itachi chuckled a little to himself, and then unlocked the car, opening his door and climbing in. Sasuke sent him the best glare he could manage at the time, realizing that it wasn't going to be that convincing. He sighed inwardly, and then followed his brother's example, almost thankful that Itachi fell for his lie.

Almost.

'So many lies, Sasuke. So many lies.'

Itachi sent a playful glare back at Sasuke, responding to Sasuke's half-glare. "Well, I am sorry I upset you, otouto."

Sasuke huffed, faking being agitated. "Don't call me that; I'm not a child." Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief, and felt worse than he ever had before. Itachi joking around like that proved that he utterly believed Sasuke with all of his being. He believed his lies, without a backwards glance at what was so obvious.

It seemed it should've been obvious, anyway. Itachi had always been the most observant person Sasuke knew, yet he noticed nothing out of place. Almost as if he couldn't tell…

'Or maybe….' Sasuke inhaled sharply, his eyes widening a fraction of an inch; fear crawled up his back, sending shivers all throughout his body. 'Maybe… he just doesn't care.' Sasuke closed his eyes, forcing that thought backwards. He couldn't believe that, he wouldn't! His nii-san was all that he had left in this world, all that he could consider actually important. If he didn't care about him…

"I am going to guess you had a normal day, since I know you would not answer if I asked," Itachi looked at his brother, expecting another glare. Instead, Sasuke simply sat there, his hair in his face. Itachi watched his brother intently, his face etched with worry; then he remembered he was driving, and focused his eyes back onto the road.

The elder brother was presently at a loss of what to say. He wasn't ever sure why his brother looked so sad, let alone what to do about it. The last time Sasuke had looked that sad was right after the –

Itachi shook his head, mentally correcting himself. He was simply overreacting; Sasuke was no doubt tired, maybe even close to dozing off. They had both gotten up that morning hours before they were used to waking; Itachi held back a yawn that proved his own point to himself. He glanced over to make sure, and breathed a sigh of relief. Sasuke was staring out the window, his monotonous self again, his eyes drooping a little from the lack of sleep.

'See, just overreacting.'

Itachi pulled the car into their driveway and got out, sighing happily at the sight of their beloved home. He walked up the small pathway towards the front porch, letting his hand trail on the wooden rail as he walked up the few steps leading the way to the door. Sasuke waited behind him silently as Itachi went through his keys to find the right one; this didn't take long, seeing as he only had three, but it seemed like a lifetime for the both of them. Itachi couldn't wait to simply lay on the sofa with light music in the background, reading a book; Sasuke couldn't wait to run to his room and hide his shame from his aniki. It took all of Sasuke's strength to remain 'normal' for the short seconds it took his nii-san to unlock their front door.

Finally, Itachi turned the handle to their front door, swinging it open. He smiled slightly as he turned on the light, taking off his shoes and heading towards the living room. "Well, I am certainly glad we do not have to go back tomorrow. I missed going, but it will be rather nice to sleep in, do you not agree?" Itachi turned to look at his otouto, only then realizing Sasuke was no longer in the same room. He heard a door close upstairs, indicating that Sasuke had already ventured up to his room. Itachi gazed up the stairs, once again feeling worry creep through his body, but sighed and shook his head clear once more.

'Just overreacting…'


	5. Chapter 4 Sasuke's Betrayal

I prefer reading Naruto to owning it any day, so I'm happy to say that I do not own it. _ Though I have to admit that I don't read it much…

**:: ::**

**Chapter 4 – Sasuke's Betrayal**

Sasuke wanted nothing more than for Itachi to run upstairs, kick his door down, and demand to know what was wrong with him. He wanted him to see through his disguise, to realize how much he needed to be screamed at, to realize how much he needed to be held, to realize just how much he needed his aniki…

He waited…

And waited…

It never happened…

'Of course he's not worried about you. You always act this distant, this detached, remember?'

'I didn't ask for your input.' Sasuke sat down in his dark blue chair, letting his head fall into his hands. He felt utterly exhausted for some reason, like he had run a marathon just 10 minutes ago, yet simultaneously unable to sleep.

'I bet you regret lying to him, don't you?' He shut his eyes tightly, willing his darker half to vanish, to leave him alone. It had been such a long time since it had been this active; he was almost unsure of how to get rid of it.

Almost

'You know how to get rid of me.'

A sick feeling washed over Sasuke, his stomach tying itself into knots. He raised his head slightly, just enough to look across his darkened room. His gaze settled on something glowing in the sliver of light escaping through his heavily curtained windows, on his betrayal.

Sasuke had never wanted to be dependent on anything…

'It's a little too late for that, isn't it?'

Madara – aka, Uncle Toby – turned off the oven timer, fixing the last of the rice balls.

"Where's your brother, Itachi? I practically miss his random glares. I mean, life is just not the same without his rude remarks. The kitchen is simply empty without the bad vibes!" Itachi put the rice balls his uncle had just finished making on the table, then proceeded to place all of the plates and eating utensils in their proper order, his slight ocd kicking in enough to make sure each and every one of them was placed correctly and perfectly.

"He went straight up to his room when we got home. I have not heard from him since then." Itachi bent down eye-level with the table, checking the alignment of the utensils as his uncle continued to go on about the happenings of their normal days.

"He just goes on and on, and never a good word ever leaves those cursed lips of his. Would a nice 'Hello, Uncle' or 'The food is delicious' really kill him? I cook and clean, and all he has to say is… Well, bad things, bad things! I try so hard, too…" Itachi sighed, swearing he heard his uncle sniff emotionally.

"Uncle, I hope it is not rude for me to ask, but have you taken your medicine today?" Madara stopped in his rant, staring at the ground with a rather guilty look. He shook his head slowly, making it evident he had no wish to answer. Itachi held in another sigh, wishing to save the ones he had left for more needed situations, and went to their medicine cabinet. He pulled out a bottle filled with what everyone called "Toby's happy pills", and dumped out two into his hand.

"Uncle, you need to make sure you continue to take these. Here, I will even get you a glass of water to wash them down." He pulled out a glass from their dishwasher, filling it up with their tap water. He held out the glass and the pills; Madara stared at the pills with clear distaste and slight fear.

"I will NOT take them!" Itachi could have sworn he felt his eye twitch in slight annoyance; it was like dealing with a child, for pity's sake!

"And why is this?"

Madara looked up at him, a face resembling the thing Itachi had just compared him to. "I don't want to dream about the purple dinosaur."

…

"Do not make me get the funnel."

Madara gasped. "You wouldn't dare!"

Itachi smirked inwardly, knowing he had won. "I would dare."

Madara sighed, giving in and taking the pills from Itachi. He swallowed them without the help of the water, and then glared at Itachi. "You know, it's a real miracle that YOU are my favorite." He grumbled a little, then started placing the food on the table. "Go get the trouble maker, will you?"

"He is not a trouble maker; he is simply…." Itachi thought a little, rearranging the food items his uncle had placed on the table to go along with his ocd. He washed and dried his hands afterwards, then headed upstairs to get his otouto. Right before he knocked, he finally found the right word to finish his sentence.

'He is just… misunderstood…'

Itachi knocked quietly on Sasuke's door. "Sasuke, dinner is on the table. Come down and eat with us."

No response came from within the door. Itachi shifted his weight from one leg to the other, waiting a little longer before knocking again. "Sasuke?" Still nothing. He opened the door just a crack, then waited for his eyes to adjust to the lighting.

Sasuke was out cold, lying on his bed. Itachi smiled slightly at his brother's sleeping form, subsequently walked into the room. He pulled the covers down, and then gently moved Sasuke to where his head was resting on his pillow. After pulling the covers up to Sasuke's chin, his aniki placed a soft, brotherly kiss to the top of his forehead. Itachi walked out, glancing back one more time and smiled at his beloved otouto – the most important thing to Itachi, the thing that made him carry on, the one person who could keep him sane. It was absolutely astonishing; when Itachi was around Sasuke, it was possible to forget about his horrendous mistakes, to live here and now, instead of back then. He could move on with him around, could stop dwelling in the past, stop reliving that day over and over… – and then shut the door quietly, heading downstairs to eat his supper.

"Where is he? I thought you were going to get him." Madara was just about to sit down at the table when Itachi walked in, a slight smile lingering on his face.

"He is sleeping. He seemed rather tired earlier; I believe we should just let him rest for a while." Madara nodded in agreement, sitting down to eat. Itachi followed his example, chatting with his uncle throughout their supper, both of the two men completely oblivious to how much Sasuke needed them.


	6. Chapter 5 The Tear of the Prince

Do not own Naruto, just like last time. Ignore the terrible name to this chapter, onegai. DX It took me forever to come up with anything! I'm not very good at naming things… Well, at least this chapter is longer…

**:: ::**

**Chapter 5 – The Tear of the Prince**

Sasuke opened his eyes slowly, not quite certain of his whereabouts. He struggled to sit up, having to throw some sort of blanket off of him to do so, and found his body to be very reluctant to make any such movements. When he finally succeeded, his head swam with dizziness; he placed his hand over his eyes, trying his hardest not to pass back out.

After a few minutes (they were minutes to Sasuke, at least. He couldn't be quite sure how long it really took, seeing as everything seemed to be going in slow-motion for him at the moment), his head finally stopped spinning. He removed his hand from over his eyes, then waited for his vision to return.

And waited.

He almost smacked himself. His sluggish mind had taken a while to realize there was no light in… well, wherever he was. He hadn't figured that part out yet, but he was certain a light would help that. He felt around whatever he was sitting on, and then decided it had to be a bed.

'A strange place, with no lights, in a bed…' Even his slow mind could decide rather quickly that this wasn't the best of situations. He scooted to the edge of the bed as fast as his body could, swinging his legs over the side. He sat there for a little while, preparing himself for the next moving activity. At long last, he shoved all of his weight onto his legs, and launched up from the bed.

And promptly fell right on his ass.

He blinked, not fully understanding what had just happened. He felt back behind him for the bed, using it to help him stand back up. He wobbled a bit, but managed to stay on his feet this time. After he steadied, he walked along the bedside, feeling for a wall to help him.

He bumped into it head first, causing quite a racket. Not to mention giving him a headache that he was sure wouldn't go away anytime soon.

There was good news, though. At least now Sasuke would be able to find some sort of light source. He stumbled and tripped a few times on the way, but at last reached a light switch. He flicked it on, then stumbled backwards away from the blinding light that had just made his major headache evolve into a migraine.

It took his eyes what seemed like ages to get used to the light. When he was finally able to look around the strange room he was currently being held captive in, he decided that he really was going to have to smack himself over the top of his head later… after the headache/migraine, of course.

He was in his own room.

'All of that worry and pain over nothing…' Sasuke sighed, leaning against the nearest wall for support. All of this activity had worn his body out, and he found his eyes kept staying shut after blinking. His stomach growled angrily up at him, which he replied to with a lazy glare. Food meant walking downstairs, into the kitchen, up to the fridge, opening the fridge, looking for food, and so on. He didn't have that kind of energy! So, after carefully assessing the situation at hand, he decided the best course of action at the moment was to go straight back to bed.

The trip back wasn't nearly as painful, and didn't take quite as long either. He sat down onto his bed wearily, yawning deeply. He vaguely realized that he hadn't turned out his light, but that thought was sent straight to the back of his mind as soon as it came to him. He lay down slowly, pulling the covers up to him, resting his head gently down onto his pillows. As soon as his eyes closed, he passed out again, practically dead to the world…

**:: ::**

"Sasuke, if you don't get out here right now, I'm kicking down this door!"

Sasuke groaned, rolling over to the side of his bed that was farthest from the door. He pulled a pillow over his head, blocking out the knocking noise as best he could, trying desperately to go back to sleep.

"He's probably still tired. Just let him rest." Itachi's voice sounded through his door, bringing momentary comfort. The next voice, sadly, took this comfort and turned it into annoyance.

"23 hours is long enough to sleep. Get UP Sasuke, or I'm going to get you up myself!"

Sasuke opened his eyes, deciding it would be for the best if he got up on his own accord. He removed the pillow from his face, sitting up and stretching his whole body out, much like a cat would. Placing the pillow back where it belonged, he threw his covers off and went straight for his closet. After rummaging a little, he managed to find clean clothes, and proceeded to get dressed. The whole time he could hear Madara and Itachi arguing over waking him up. Madara comment mostly revolved around Sasuke's laziness, while Itachi argued that it was best to leave Sasuke alone.

Sasuke pulled his shirt down, making his way to his door. He opened his door at just the right moment to see Madara and Itachi in the middle of a glare-down. Itachi was winning, of course, when they both heard the door open and turned to see Sasuke. Itachi smiled pleasantly at Sasuke, while Madara seemed to get even angrier.

"Ah, Sasuke, you're awake."

"What the Hell were you doing in there for a whole day?"

Itachi and Madara spoke simultaneously, making Sasuke smirk. He noticed his brother out of his peripheral vision, deciding to speak with him first. He looked over at Itachi, immediately regretting his action.

Everything came rushing back into his head. Everything that he had ever done, even things he had never admitted to doing, all came rushing back. Regrets flooded his memory, burning like a deep-set fire within his soul…

The fire…

Tomato soup…

Sasuke quickly regained his composure, hoping his horror did not show on his face. He decided to answer Madara's question instead of looking anywhere near Itachi again.

"I was sleeping." Before Madara could question him further, Sasuke made a quick getaway, hoping to leave Itachi and his regrets behind. He didn't understand what was going on lately; everything he held close to him, everything he cherished most, was falling apart! He could feel it all slipping slowly through his fingertips.

Sasuke sighed, knowing full well that nothing was falling apart, save for his sanity. No relationships had changed; everything was still the same. He was just overreacting, and apparently losing his intelligence, like it seemed he had been for quite a while now. Everything else was simply… the same. Just normal.

"How could you be that tired from one half day at school?" Madara demanded from upstairs. Sasuke shook his head, glad for the normalcy of his uncle's rage. He would give anything to feel normal right now, and that included an argument with his uncle… That was the worst case scenario, of course.

"Leave him alone. He was tired, leave it at that." Itachi walked downstairs after Sasuke, much to the latter's horror. Madara was left upstairs to grumble to himself.

Sasuke glanced at the clock, avoiding looking at his aniki again. One thing he knew for certain is that he couldn't go through that again. Not today, at least. Given a little while, say a day or two, and maybe, just maybe, he might be able to handle that kind of torture. Avoiding Itachi was torture within itself, but it was a kind that Sasuke could take… for now, at least. Sure, he wanted to be normal, wanted to be able to speak with Itachi as he would every morning – though even then the conversation was minuscule – but he knew he could not. He knew that, if he even tried to speak, he would break.

'Torture it is, then.' Sasuke smiled dryly to himself, continuing his walk to the kitchen.

"I'm going to work," Madara walked to the door, putting his coat on. He waved at the both of them, then walked out of the door, leaving the two brothers alone.

The house fell into an awkward silence, only disturbed by the roar of Madara's car starting up outside. Both of them listened to it speed away, both longing for the person within its metal prison to come back. Itachi stood in the doorway of the kitchen, feeling uncomfortable with the silence, something that was unnatural for him. He was always one to enjoy silence, even as far as to seek it out; yet, here he felt vulnerable… 'No, not vulnerable.' Itachi shifted his weight to his other led, confused. He just couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something. Sasuke hadn't looked at him once since he had walked out of his room. It wasn't unnatural, but… Itachi had this strange feeling that Sasuke didn't want to look at him. Itachi sighed inwardly, confused as to why something this minuscule was bothering him this much. Why was something so petty the thing that had kept him up last night? He shook his head ever so slightly, a movement only he would ever notice, then went to watching his otouto.

While Itachi had been reconsidering his momentary sanity, Sasuke had been trying his best to get images out of his head by searching for food. Though it is depressing to say so, it hadn't gone so well for him… well, at least until he found a tomato in the fridge. That did brighten his outlook on life, if only slightly and momentarily. He took it out of the fridge, then made his way to the table. If it had been any other day, he would have happily munched on it with a smile on his face; today, however, was not 'any other day'. Today was simply today, and it was not a day for smiles. Sasuke soon found himself drowning in a sea of fire once more, reliving lies upon lies of his past.

Itachi watched Sasuke the whole time, fiddling with the idea of talking to him. His feeling contradicted each other, making the decision very difficult to find. His worry demanded the heart-to-heart conversation, while his natural distant personality told him over and over that Sasuke could handle things by himself, that he should stand on the sidelines and leave his otouto alone. Not surprisingly, the worry won out – it always seemed to when dealing with Sasuke. Itachi walked over, silently cursing himself for not thinking about what he would say. He never used to overlook things; what had happened to him lately.

Putting his thoughts and feelings aside, Itachi decided on an utterly unoriginal way to start their conversation. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked up as Itachi sat down. Itachi paused, not sure whether to continue or to fall back into silence.

"What?"

Itachi sighed; seeing his otouto's completely normal, sane response made him feel even crazier than he had before. Nonetheless, he continued on to ask the same question that he had the day before multiple times. He felt more and more idiotic each time he asked, but worry for his closest blood-relative, for his beloved otouto, forbade him from keeping quiet. "You… are okay, right?"

Sasuke winced inwardly, wishing that he didn't have to lie again so soon. He had been prepared for the torture of awkward silence between them, prepared to utterly ignore his aniki's existence, something that killed him on the inside. He knew how much it would hurt him if Itachi ignored him, and this is why it hurt Sasuke so much. Things that would hurt Sasuke emotionally were always things that he loathed doing unto others, making him feel guiltier and guiltier, and people close to him – mostly consisting of Itachi, his aniki, and his nii-san (see a pattern there?) – ignoring him was pretty high up there on his emotional torture list.

Itachi, on the other hand, was a completely different story. He was used to people ignoring him, especially Sasuke, seeing as he used to do it all the time to Itachi when they were younger. Lies hurt much worse to him; he would rather the truth be told and kill him than lies be told to keep him alive. He once actually told Sasuke this; of course, as most memories love to do, this particular memory waited until now to show its ugly face.

'Lies, lies, lies.' His darker half came back, taunting Sasuke, knowing everything that went through his head. After all, he was in it. 'So many lies, Sasuke. Can you do it? Can you really look him in the eyes and lie?'

Sasuke took the challenge, knowing his darker half knew the answer before he even asked. Looking Itachi straight in the eyes, he answered, not once wavering in his speech. "Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"

Itachi shrugged, looking down at the table. He frowned, fiddling around with a spoon left in front of his seat. "I am not sure. I suppose it is my job to make sure, that is all."

A dark chuckle echoed through Sasuke's conscious. Sasuke nearly winced at the sound, but managed to hold back the urge. 'Are you proud, Sasuke? You've succeeded in fooling your brother. You must really love him to say that to his face, and after all he's done for you. How touching.' Sasuke looked down at the table as well, barely even seeing it through his guilt. He knew that, if Itachi ever found out he was lying, it was possible he would never be forgiven.

Itachi got up, feeling rather awkward in the silence. He figured he had annoyed his otouto; he glanced down at him once more, hoping that Sasuke wasn't lying to him. He hated it when people lied; there was no reason for such nonsense! It was unneeded and could be rather hurtful at times. It was even worse when they made that idiotic excuse "The truth hurts". Of course it hurts! He shook his head, his frown deepening. Sasuke used to lie all the time to him, and he had to admit it aggravated him to no end. But, unlike with other people, he never got truly angry at his otouto, just annoyed. 'Sometimes,' he thought to himself, 'I believe Sasuke is the one person who I could never truly be angered at. I do not remember a time when I was angry at him.'

Itachi sighed, realizing that what he was doing – standing there next to the table, staring intently at the top of Sasuke's head deep in thought – could be considered creepy and stalker-ish in some cultures. He walked out of the kitchen, questioning his sanity as of late.

While Itachi's receding footsteps echoed through the silence of the dead house, Sasuke put his head down on the table, wishing for nothing more than a different life, a different problem to deal with. Anything other than his current one could be handled, anyone other than himself would be better. He felt his eyes water, then a single tear slid down his cheek.

Itachi never came back into the kitchen.

After 10 minutes of crying – it was a strange feeling, Sasuke later noted. He hadn't cried in years, and had been unaccustomed to the feeling of salt water. He always thought that standing in the shower was something like crying; after this, he found himself utterly wrong. Warm water coming from the showerhead is nothing like your soul seeping from your eyes, stealing away your self control with it. He felt his heart tearing slowly, piece by piece with every single teardrop, ever tear the size of the droplet that stole it away – Sasuke got up, wiping away the remnants of his emotional breakdown. He checked his best around the corners of the walls, and found it quite ironic that now, of all times, luck was at last on his side. He smirked cynically at his own life, then made his way upstairs to his room, where he spent the rest of his day quietly staring at the thing that had ruined his chances of ever finding happiness in the pathetic existence he had once called a 'life'.

He had discovered lately that, in order to call your meager existence a 'life', you had to be alive. In order to be alive, you had to have a heart; Sasuke found himself too lacking to ever count himself among the living again.

**:: ::**

Notes:

Sasuke's calculations:

What should be:

Living = Joy and happiness (at least ¾ of the time)

Joy and happiness = Heart

Heart = Blood

Blood = Oxygen to the brain

Oxygen to the brain = Intelligence (of some sort)

Intelligence (of some sort) = No stupid decisions (for Sasuke, anyway)

What it really is:

Sasuke's life = Horror and lies

Horror and lies = NOT HAPPINESS

No happiness = No heart

No heart = No intelligence (in a round about way)

No intelligence = Sasuke's decision that destroyed his life


	7. Chapter 6 What Now?

If you enjoy long chapters, you'll love this one Nya~

Still don't own Naruto, and I don – yeah, you should get that by now…

**:: ::**

**Chapter 6 – What Now…?**

**** It was raining while they were on their way to school the next morning, reflecting Sasuke's sour mood quite well. Itachi yawned, far too tired to try to hold a conversation. Slight rings showed beneath his eyes, proving that sleep had eluded him that night, which seemed to not be that uncommon for the elder brother.

Finally, never being one to enjoy silence between himself and his younger brother, Itachi couldn't take it any longer, and figured he had to at least try to start a conversation with his otouto. The only thing that he could think to talk about wasn't exactly an exciting topic, but it would have to do. His mind wasn't working that well with such little sleep to run off of, so it was hard to think straight that morning anyway. Dull conversation was the only option. "I somehow have Psychology on my schedule, though I do not recall ever wishing to take that particular class." He glanced at Sasuke, then quickly looked back at the road, signaling for a right turn a little later than he usually would due to delayed reaction time. "Did anything strange show up on your schedule?"

Sasuke then realized he hadn't even glanced at his own schedule. He reached into one of his school books and pulled it out, looking over it thoroughly. He then had to forcibly refrain himself from breaking the window to discard it.

"Creative Writing." Sasuke's eye twitched, and he wadded his schedule up and threw it to the back of the car. Itachi chuckled, slightly amused at how angrily Sasuke had reacted to being shoved into that class.

"You sound quite disappointed in that, Sasuke."

"Shut up."

Itachi was still smiling when they pulled into the school parking lot, obviously amused at his otouto's anger, which just fueled Sasuke's frustration with life a little more.

"Have fun in Creative Writing" was Itachi's goodbye. Sasuke just glared at his back as much as he could – which wasn't that much, seeing that it was his brother he was glaring a hole into, the one person in the world he could never imagine being truly mad at – then turned around quickly, almost running straight into Shino.

"Hello, Sasuke." Shino stepped around him, walking away. Sasuke followed his movements with his eyes, then turned back to the school building. He then made his way slowly to his first block class, the sick feeling washing over him once more.

**:: ::**

Sasuke quickly decided that he had somehow stepped through a vortex straight to hell after entering the classroom. There were only two other people in his Advanced English II class, and those people were going to cause him to commit a very sinful deed before the end of the school year.

"Alright, I'm guessing we're all here," Kakashi Hatake, the English teacher, looked over the roll paper at his students, having no problem whatsoever counting to three to make sure everyone was present for their first English class.

"I'm going to so beat you today, Sasuke! Believe it!" Naruto jumped up onto his seat, point a finger at Sasuke. Kakashi's eye twitched at the outburst, his reaction no different from Sasuke's.

"Shut up, Naruto, and leave Sasuke-kun alone!" Sakura jumped up as well, slamming her hands down onto her desk. Her outburst caused a retort to follow from Naruto's lips, and an argument soon started between the two of them. As Kakashi tried – vainly – to calm the two of them down, Sasuke sighed very deeply while placing his head down on his desk, wishing he was elsewhere.

'You know, Sasuke, they annoy me as well.' Sasuke's darker half piped up. 'How about a suicide pact?'

'You would just love it if I killed myself, wouldn't you?'

'Perhaps.'

'Shut up.'

"I think it's about time to start class." Kakashi rolled his eyes at the chaos around him, dreading having to teach the obnoxious twerps that had been placed in his classroom. It was times like these that he asked himself why he had even signed up for this job.

"I will be the next Ishinryu master, BELIEVE IT!"

"Naruto, would you sit down and shut the HELL UP!" Kakashi huffed, finally calming the chaos down. Naruto took his seat, Sakura sitting down as well, and the whole room finally went silent. Kakashi took a moment to look around at them once more, then spoke again. "Now, if you don't mind being silent, I have work to do." He then walked back to his desk, sat down in his chair, and pulled out a particular book that should not have been anywhere near a school building.

A few seconds of quiet preceded his miniscule speech, as everyone blinked at the bizarre teacher. Sasuke, deciding it might be safe to do so, lifted his head up and began to stare at the board that held their assignment for that day. An essay, 500 words minimum, on the writer's views on censorship. Oh, what fun. He pulled out a notebook, and started to write the little bit of information he had to go on.

"Don't even think about winning today, Sasuke!"

Sasuke turned to the source of the outburst, glared at the most annoying and belligerent blonde he had ever heard of, and looked back at his notebook, continuing to write down the assignment set before him.

'I hate your life too, Sasuke.'

'No one asked.'

**:: ::**

The bell rang, and Sasuke gathered his crap from the desk, glad to be leaving the first hell-hole. Sadly, there were three more before he could go back to the one he lived in. Sighing – which seemed to be a new habit of his these days – he walked towards his next classroom, hoping that this one would at least be slightly better than what he had just been put through.

He walked into the Pre-Calculus class, and really wished he would stop getting his hopes up just so they could come crashing down, burning as they went, covering everything he hoped was good and blessed within his own mind with red-hot ashes and rock-hard coals.

On a lighter note, he also decided that he should really start writing down the crap that went through his head, because he sometimes came up with some pretty interesting shit in his head.

He made his way passed the section of students – altogether, besides Sasuke, totaling to 24 students, 22 of them being fangirls – and walked to the furthest side of the room, putting as much space between himself and the rest of the crazed people that acted 1/4th of their age 99.999% of the time (the other .001% of their life, they at least acted a 1/3rd their age, but that still wasn't much of an improvement). He slid into his desk, placing his stuff in the small basket located underneath his seat. He faced forward, deciding his best course of action was to ignore the insects that were at the ready to wage war with his sanity at a moment's notice.

"I'm going to be at the top of this class, BELIEVE IT!" Sasuke closed his eyes, repeating to himself what he thought was the most tactical move to start with.

'Don't make eye-contact, don't make eye-contact, whatever you do, do not look into their eyes. That's when they know they have you cornered, that's when they move in for the kill. Do. Not. Make. Eye. Contact.'

Right before class started, another girl walked into the classroom. Sasuke didn't recognize her as someone he knew, so he ignored her – until she sat down right next to him. His eye twitched, mostly because she stared at him from the second she put her stuff down. He managed to pretend it didn't bother him for a few minutes, but there's only so much annoying even Sasuke can take. He finally looked over at her, and asked not very politely, "What do you want?"

The girl just blinked a few times, obviously a little startled that he said anything. Still, she answered with a statement that Sasuke was sure not even the all-knowing, all-seeing god of stuff that his brother was could have seen coming. "You would look really good with snake bites." She then turned to face the board, focusing on something else entirely.

Sasuke blinked, completely confused with life at that moment. He started to ask 'What the Fuck was that about?', but stopped himself, deciding that a conversation with a complete stranger who could turn into a crazed fangirl at any given moment was one of the last things on his to-do list for that day. He simply replied with his usual 'Hn', and went on with his life.

"Class, your attention to the front, please," Asuma Sarutobi, the Pre-Cal teacher, stood up from his desk, walking to the front of the classroom. He called roll, then quickly got down to business.

"Today, we're going to have a small quiz, just to see how much you know about math," Asuma picked up a stack of tests, then started handing them out to the students.

"Aw, man," Sasuke heard Naruto groan aloud, and he almost smirked to himself at his rival's horror.

"You have 30 minutes, then we'll grade it in class. It shouldn't be that hard, so go ahead and start." Asuma started a timer, sitting down at his desk, preparing for other classes while he waited.

Sasuke opened his test, and began.

**:: ::**

"Alright students, put your pencils down." Sasuke lifted his head up, yawning a little. He had been done for at least 15 minutes, and had been napping quite wonderfully as he waited for the rest of his classmates to finish as well. He stretched, and slumped back over.

"Damn, that was hard…" Naruto sighed, walking over to Sasuke. He sat down behind him, obviously upset at how well he had done. "Did you understand any of it?"

"What happened to being at the top of the class?" Naruto just glared at Sasuke, then stared at the board for comfort.

"Alright, the answers were as follows…"

Naruto just gaped at the big, red zero he had to put on the top of his test paper. "I didn't even get the bonus right!" Sasuke turned back at him, raising an eyebrow, questioning Naruto's intelligence. Of course, the blonde did not appreciate it. He glared at Sasuke as much as he could. "What did you make?" He leaned over, looking at Sasuke's paper.

Sasuke was sure he was going to have to defend himself after Naruto saw his test grade. "A 115? What the Hell? You didn't miss any? What the – Hey, you don't mind if I cheat off of you, do you? If you see me leaning over during a test, just ignore me."

"If you don't know how to do _this_," Sasuke tapped his test paper, becoming more than just a little annoyed at the blonde idiot behind him, "then why in all of Heaven and Hell did you sign up for Pre-Calculus?"

"I signed up for Geometry!" Naruto exclaimed, dramatic tears about to start streaming down his face.

"They put you in Pre-Calculus… when you signed up for Geometry…" Sasuke frowned at the idiotic school system he learned in. Apparently, he and his brother were not the only people's schedules they had fucked with.

"I don't even like math…" Naruto looked down, resembling more like a lost puppy than a person.

"Could be worse, dude." Another man sat down in front of Sasuke, putting his test down and turning to join the conversation. Suigetsu Hoshigaki, an actual friend of Sasuke's. His brother, Kisame, was good friends with Itachi, so they spent quite a lot of time at each other's houses when they were smaller. Suigetsu and Kisame both had jobs now, since they had to support themselves, so they never went anywhere with friends anymore. Sasuke would almost be able to admit that he missed his friend, but he knew too well that he could never miss anyone.

"How could it be any worse than math?" Naruto almost started crying once more, getting way to emotional for Sasuke's liking.

"They put me in Sociology, and you don't even _want_ to know the Hell that went on in that classroom." At Naruto's disbelieving look, Suigetsu went on anyway. "We had to take a test that was over 10 pages long, and over 175 questions. On the first day of class." He shook his head, frowning. "And apparently not having anything to study off of the night before was no excuse. I mean, how can I study for a test we have On The First Day Of School?"

Asuma took up the tests, interrupting their oh-so happy conversation, then looked over them. He placed the papers on his desk, and had a look of slight disappointment as he spoke to the class. "Apparently, some of you need to study. I'm going to hand out another copy of the test, except this time you'll be working in assigned pairs." He walked around, handing out the test papers again.

"Mr. Uchiha, why don't you help Mr. Usumaki here work out the problems. And Mr. Hoshigaki can join the two of you, seeing that we have an odd number of students." Sasuke felt a bit of relief that he wasn't going to have to put up with the idiot alone, but he also knew that if the blonde had any questions he would be the one to help him. Suigetsu had the patience of an angry old squirrel going through child birth while fighting for her walnuts. Which, in case you didn't know, isn't much patience at all.

Naruto scooted his desk up next to Sasuke, while Suigetsu turned his around. Naruto quickly grabbed Sasuke's attention, asking for assistance. Suigetsu just pulled out his ipod, tuning out the rest of the world while he focused on his problem areas on his test. Sasuke turned to the blonde idiot to his right, and prepared for a headache.

"What don't you understand?"

"All of it."

Sasuke just knew he was going to have to go to a doctor if his eye didn't stop having seizures every 50 seconds. "Alright, we'll start from the top then. Do you remember the theorem for-"

"Wait, what the Fuck is a theorem?"

Sasuke sighed, really hating it when he was interrupted. "A theorem is a math statement that can be proven. Do you know the theorem for-"

"So, 2 + 2 = 4 is a thearom?"

"It's 'theorem', and no."

"Okay, name a theorom."

"Theorem."

"Whatever! Just name one!"

Sasuke started counting the ways he could kill himself. "Theorem 4.8, Hypotenuse Leg theorem, states that if you can prove that the legs + hypotenuse of two triangles are congruent, then the triangles are congruent."

Sasuke just waited for drool to start running down Naruto's chin. The blonde just stared at him like he had just started to speak in a foreign language. The next thing that came out of Naruto's mouth proved the saying 'Better to be silent and thought the fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.'

"What do hippos and legs have to do with math?"

'I like him.' Darker Sasuke sounded quite amused at what was going on.

'Why?'

Sasuke imagined his darker half shrugging as he replied. 'He does my job for me.' Sasuke snorted inwardly and went on with explaining things.

"Look, it's a hypotenuse, not a hippopotamus. The 'leg' of a triangle is across from the hypotenuse."

"What is a hiputanus?"

"'Hyponetuse'." Sasuke stopped, smacking himself inwardly for his momentary dyslexia. "'Hypotenas'." He stopped again, shaking his head.

"I thought it was 'hitop'-"

"Look, it doesn't matter how you pronounce it, alright!" Sasuke huffed, frustration quickly becoming the most dominate of his feelings. The last thing he wanted right now was to give the idiot a grammar lesson.

Naruto was smart enough to leave Sasuke alone afterwards for quite sometime, and everyone minded their own business while he did so. After a few minutes though, he started asking more questions, and he then spent the rest of the class time trying to figure out what the hell Sasuke was talking about. When the bell finally rang, Sasuke jumped up with his stuff, walking away like the world was ending and he had to go raid a convenience store while he still had the chance to get a pack of AA batteries.

"But, Sasuke! I still don't know how scabs and triangles are-"

"It's 'Scalene' and forget it!" Sasuke left, glaring evilly at the floor as he walked away from that particular level of hell, heading for the lunch room. Entering the cafeteria, he scanned the small area for a particular long-haired senior. As soon as he spotted who he was looking for, his mood lightened up a few levels. He walked over to the table, sitting down in front of his brother, greeting him quietly.

Kisame joined them after a few seconds, followed by Suigetsu. Each sat next to their friend, and shot straight into conversations. That is, until Kisame inhaled deeply with his nose, which he immediately regretted. He gagged, swearing that the most horrible scent the world had to offer had just raped his nostrils.

"What is that smell? It smells like… well, the closest thing I can think of is manure!" A nervous chuckle came from his right.

"My apologies. We went on a trip to the zoo during first block." The whole table then directed their attentions to Itachi, who was looking down guiltily at his food. It was the closest anyone – excluding Sasuke, of course – had seen him come to looking embarrassed, and it was quite an interesting moment for the lot of them. Sasuke himself found it quite amusing, except for the fact that Kisame had practically said that his brother smelled like he had been rolling around in a pile of manure.

Itachi actually felt quite embarrassed, though he was never one to let things show on his face. It wasn't that he thought it was weak to let people in, it was just that he didn't do that. He never had. Itachi just wasn't the person to bother others with his problems, simply because he was sure they had enough to deal with without him shoving something horrid at them and saying, "Here. You deal with it." Instead of continuing to allow them to focus on what emotions were dancing across his face, he quickly composed himself and distracted everyone around him by looking up and continuing on with his story. "The petting zoo animals…might have decided to attack."

"Wait, what?" Sasuke gave his brother a look of utter confusion about him going to the zoo, and also as if he were blaming Itachi for being up to something mischievous; after all, petting zoo animals don't usually attack for no reason. "First off, why did you go to the zoo? And secondly, what did you do to the poor animals to make them attack?"

Itachi huffed indignantly. "Do not give me that look; I do believe you have come to a misconception. I did not do anything to those damned animals; there was no misconduct on my part. They attacked without reason."

"Okay…" Sasuke paused as Itachi glared at his food; it had been a while since he had seen his brother this flustered, and he found it amusing to say the least. Especially since it was over something as trivial as a petting zoo. "So, why were you there?"

Itachi shrugged in response. "I am the only student in my Calculus II class; therefore, the teacher decided to take a field trip to the zoo."

Kisame butted into the conversation. "So… why, exactly, were you at the petting zoo?"

"I like animals." Itachi's look was warning enough not to push it any further, so Kisame turned back to his food, muttering something about not wanting to know why.

Sasuke turned to his own food, shoving it around his tray with his chopsticks. The food looked as inedible this year as it always had. Suigetsu was the one who continued the conversation with Itachi this time.

"A field trip."

Itachi nodded his head.

"In math class."

Itachi answered in the positive verbally this time.

"To the zoo."

Itachi sighed, but kept his cool like always. "Yes."

Suigetsu blinked a few times, expressing his confusion. "That's….strange…"

"Indeed." Itachi turned back to his food, hoping the conversation would end.

"I mean, couldn't he at least take you someplace remotely relating to math?"

Itachi pressed his lips together, answering tightly with an "I concur".

Sasuke looked up, staring at his brother. "Did you just say 'I concur'?"

Itachi turned to his little brother, speaking very formally, as if he was quoting someone. "'Concur' means 'to be of the same opinion; agree'. For instance, 'They concurred on the-'"

"I know what it means, I'm not an idiot." Sasuke snapped, glaring at Itachi. One thing could really hurt him was his aniki speaking down to him, and he was stressed enough at the moment; he didn't need Itachi making him feel lower than he already knew he was. "I just thought it was rather odd of you to use it."

"Geesh, Sasuke, what bit you in the ass today?" Suigetsu teasingly jabbed his friend in the side with his elbow. Sasuke frowned at him, but realized that his reaction had been a bit unnecessary. He looked up to apologize – an action that shocked himself, as well as anyone who would have heard it. After all, since when would Sasuke regret any actions that he made? – but was interrupted, sadly, by a particular presence that always seemed to show up at the wrong time. Of course, it's hard not to when anytime would be the wrong time.

"Hello, Sasuke." Shino simply stood behind Sasuke for a moment, looking down at him. At least, that's what Sasuke figured. No one could ever actually see what Shino was looking at, due to the black hue of his sunglasses. Then again, Sasuke figured that, if he could see Shino's eyes, he would regret it. After all, it was already hard enough to live without seeing the eyes that brought him his sin.

After a few awkward moments of silence – between Sasuke and Shino, that is. Everyone else had simply continued their normal conversations, completely oblivious to the drama unfolding in front of them. All eyes were elsewhere; besides, of course, those eyes that knew best when Sasuke needed them. Finally, Shino walked away slowly, as if it didn't bother him that he had helped in the destruction of the person he was walking away from.

Sasuke sighed shakily as he watched Shino walk away. 'Now is not the right time to do this, why would he even talk to me? He really needs to be more careful… We'll both get caught if he doesn't stop this…'

"Sasuke?"

He jumped a little at the sound of his name, but turned to the person who had spoken. His aniki just sat there, a brotherly look of concern written across his face. The fact that Itachi would have been a perfect father crossed Sasuke's mind then, but he shoved it away, not questioning that thought at the moment. For now, he simply raised an eyebrow at his older brother.

Itachi opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the lunch bell. The sounds of the crowd would have drowned his voice out, so, if he did say something, Sasuke didn't hear it. He grabbed his books and walked away quickly, hoping to delay any questions until his head was clear enough to make up something believable.

'Lies, lies, lies…' A dark chuckle sounded. Sasuke ground his teeth together, mentally telling that voice to shut it, as well as a few other unnecessary vulgar things.

**:: ::**

Itachi watched his brother leave in a hurry, then sighed. 'Do not be overly protective of him. He would never appreciate that.' Itachi picked up his things as well, walking with the crowd out of the cafeteria. He went to his locker first to dispose of the unneeded items that he had with him, then made his way toward the room labeled 224, where his Psychology class would be held.

'I suppose Psychology could be an enjoyable subject, if it were not for the teacher that they picked to govern that class. I am certainly not looking forward to this.'

He took his seat, looking around only to find one other student. Sadly, this person was not someone Itachi knew. 'Perhaps I can enjoy this class more without any of my usual distractions. This might be a good experience after all-'

"JIRAIYA IS HERE!" The teacher, Jiraiya Yukino, jumped into the classroom, shattering all of Itachi's hopes and dreams about having a good class. "Alright class, welcome to Psychology!" Jiraiya wrote the word 'Psychology' on the board in big, bubbly letters. It ended up slanted the first time he wrote it, so he ended up redoing it. 5 times. Chalk dust went everywhere due to his crazy erasing, and that he had refused a dry erase board. His latest theory was that dry erase boards caused words to lose their meaning, which made more sense than when he said they housed demons that were waiting for their chance to jump out and eat small children under the age of 7.

When the board was perfect to Jiraiya – which, for Itachi, meant that his OCD would be bothering him all class, because the letters weren't even near the same size – he clapped his hands together, making dust go everywhere, and spoke to the class.

"In this class, we will be learning about the powers of the mind, and how the development of the mind affects our daily lives, and our futures as well. Also, we will discuss how problems within the mind can manifest as other problems within our lives, and how problems within our lives can, in turn, cause problems within our mind."

'Wow… I have to admit, that is impressive,' Itachi thought. 'Perhaps learning something in this class will be possible after all.'

Jiraiya paused for a moment, seeming to be thinking about something deeply. "Which reminds me of a time when I went to a restaurant in America called McDonalds. I was trying to decide what I wanted to eat there, because it all tastes pretty good to me. I mean, their chicken is phenomenal, not to mention their big Mac. Ah, and the milk shakes are delicious, and those apple fries are to die for! And don't even get me started on their regular fries. Yumm! I know they're, like, deep-fried in bacon grease and smothered in lard, but DAMN they're sooo tasty! Though one time I did end up with a curly fry mixed in with my regular fries…"

Itachi's eye twitched just a little. 'You just had to think it would be okay…'

"Anyway, I was trying to decide what to eat when someone had the nerve to just ram right into me, from behind. From behind! Oh, that coward! I went off on his ass. I had never been so pissed off in my entire life! Well, I can't really say that, because there was that one time at Burger King…"

Jiraiya ranted on and on, but Itachi finally managed to drown him out with his own thoughts. Having little to do while ignoring his teacher's incredibly dull ranting, Itachi glanced around the room for something useful to occupy his time with. Luckily, right to his left was a shelf with Psychology text books stacked on it. After contemplating if there was something else that could be more useful than reading what his teacher seemed to be refusing to teach him, he picked one up and flipped through it, passing what he believed he would already know from watching his literally crazy family.

"-to sue me! Like it's my fault I tried to kill him. Perhaps he shouldn't have been rolling his wheelchair so slowly across the road! What was I supposed to do, slow down? Hello! I was already going slowly enough due to the rain; if I had went any slower, I would have had to pull off the road! Ugh, some people. I mean, come on! Roll faster! Honestly, it doesn't take that long to get a wheel out of a pot hole!

"Anyway, moving on. The next day I was standing in front of the IRS building, protesting about kittens being lost in size 12 ½ shoes – sadly, I was the only one protesting that day. More people just have to get involved! Do you know how many kittens get lost every year in size 12 ½ shoes? …Well, I don't either, but it's a problem that must be solved! Those poor kittens, lost and alone, no one there to comfort them. No one cares for the kittens anymore! But that's all about to change! No more will they be lost, abandoned to the cold and wet of the 12 ½ shoes. No more! I will make sure this situation changes, if it's the last thing I do!"

'Hn, this is rather intriguing. I was unaware that colors could alter your actions.' Itachi continued to read the textbook, until he heard Jiraiya clear his throat for the class' attention. He then marked his place, deciding that he would more than likely be taking the Psychology book home with him.

"Anyway, back to Psychology. This class is all about the mind… Which reminds me of another time I was standing outside the IRS building – this time, I was not protesting about the kittens. It was actually the period of the suffering doughnuts; of course, I'm sure you've heard of those depressing years, so I won't go into details. Oh, those poor, poor doughnuts…" Jiraiya then stopped for a dramatic pause. The only sound in the classroom was Itachi opening up the textbook once more.

"Anyway, I was standing outside the IRS building not protesting about the kittens – or the doughnuts, for that matter. I had actually been protest for the doughnuts the past five months, everyday, so they gave me some time off – I was just minding my own business, when some guy just comes up and hits me in the head with a rock! I didn't even know the guy! So I turned around – yes, I was just fine, though normal people would have hit the ground unconscious after being hit in the head with such an enormous rock, which hurts, by the way. I don't suggest it. Anyway, I stayed conscious. My mind power has been strengthened; the rock just bounced off of my head. You will gain this power as well after taking my class."

Itachi sighed. 'I should definitely introduce Uncle to this man. I do believe they would get along quite well…'

And so Jiraiya droned on in the background while Itachi read the Psychology textbook. He had read about a sixth of the way through it by the time the bell rang, meaning that it was time for the evening break. He got up, gathering the items he had with him, and the Psychology book that he had decided to take with him for light reading, then made his way to the library, hoping to have a conversation with his otouto before finishing his school day.

**:: ::**

Sasuke quietly went along his way to Room 152. He was thankfully not the first person in there, meaning his entirely unwanted and horribly annoying fan club already had seats. He sat as far away as possible from them, choosing to sit at the far side of the classroom next to the windows, in case daydreaming was needed. Naruto ran into the classroom panting just as the bell rang, and rushed over to grab a seat next to Sasuke. Out of his peripheral, Sasuke noticed Naruto had brought his math work with him.

After a few minutes of the teacher not being there, the classroom started to get louder and louder with chatter. Students were sharing schedules, discussing how easy or hard class subjects were, discussing whether a teacher was amazing or a complete dick, and even continuing in stories about their summer vacations. Naruto was currently ranting about how he had went to the beach and eaten some of the most amazing ramen at a ramen stand there, and how he planned to go back every summer just for that ramen. Sasuke was staring outside, trying his hardest to zone out.

There was a shadow outside. Sasuke frowned, and focused a little harder. 'That shadow looks familiar'. He leaned a little further towards the window, trying his hardest to get a clear view of the figure. Sure enough, it was who he thought it was. There he stood, talking with another person. Sasuke knew exactly what was going on. There was no doubt in his mind that –

"Class, will you please SHUT UP!" Their teacher, Kurenai Yuhi, walked in, looking very flustered and slightly dirty. Sasuke flinched a little at the sudden outburst ('Not like I would be ashamed for what was going on outside. I have nothing to do with that. And I definitely wasn't scared! Honestly, how could someone ever scare_ me?_'_)_and then felt like his nostrils were burning.

"Due to an explosion in the chemistry lab last block, Advanced Biology will have to start tomorrow. I'm going to be helping with the clean up. Stay seated and quiet while I'm gone. I'll be checking in every now and then, and if there's any trouble…" She didn't finish her sentence; then again, she really didn't have to. The tone of her voice finished her sentence for her. The majority of the class – of course excluding Sasuke, he would never be afraid of someone as annoying and crazy as her – was already terrified of her from stories other students had passed down. "Like that one time, when she actually threw a desk! A kid was in the hospital for a whole week!" She gave one last piercing look and frown, and then left the classroom.

Of course, Sasuke should have seen his fate coming. It happened every time there was such a chance. Naruto turned to him, and Sasuke could have sworn his eye started twitching before he even said a word to him. 'Why must he always bother me?'

Naruto grinned, happy in his ignorance to how badly Sasuke wanted to kill him. "Hey, Sasuke. Good thing I brought my math work. Can you help me?"

"Naruto, why would I ever want to go through that again?" He glared as best he could, but it was a wasted effort on Naruto. His blonde tormentor then went into a lengthy explanation that Sasuke neither would have understood nor did he actually hear. He eventually interrupted him, and agreed to help him in order to shut him up.

'It seems you cannot stand anyone these days, can you Sasuke?'

Sasuke pretended not to hear that voice, and went on with helping Naruto with his math. He pulled out his own math folder, and flipped through it. He had kept all of his old math notes – not because he enjoyed school or anything, he just hadn't gotten around to it yet. "Here. You should be able to understand this -"

"Do you take your math notes with you everywhere? How do you even have math notes? We didn't take that many today, did we? Damnit, I knew I should have paid more attention! I feel so stu-"

"- seeing that it very basic math. Now, we'll start here because there's no hope in Pre-Calculus if you don't get this first. Got that?"

Naruto blinked, then spent the next 20 minutes interrupting Sasuke with random questions. After that, he actually managed to stay quiet for a while. Sasuke explained things the best he could to him. Only when he had gone through the majority of the Postulates did he realize Naruto was completely zoned out. Sasuke didn't even try to resist punching him in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Not paying attention!"

"I… I got distracted…"

Sasuke sighed, rubbing his temples. "By what?"

"I'd rather not say…" Naruto laughed nervously, and then looked away.

'Perhaps you should just kill yourself. I think that would solve everything.'

Sasuke couldn't ignore the voice this time; it was beginning to piss him off. 'You know, if I die, you do too.'

'I don't see how this is a problem. I am just a personification of your guilt and need. Death has no meaning to me.'

'I don't have guilt or need.' Sasuke nearly flinched at the weak sound of his mental reply. The voice simply laughed and did not respond after that.

"Hello, Sasuke."

Sasuke closed his eyes, feeling rather nauseated. Naruto smiled up at the new person, oblivious to Sasuke's expression of illness.

"Hi, Shino! I didn't know you had this class! Why didn't you come over here earlier? Sasuke was just helping me with my math; at least he was trying to. It wasn't going too well, 'cause I really don't get math. Plus I find it hard to concentrate; I really think I have some sort of abd or something like that, I forget the actual letters. I don't see how anyone could remember the words though! It's like Attention Defeat Disobedience or something or another, don't know where the 'b' in abd came from though..."

"I don't have this class; I just wish to talk to Sasuke." Shino turned and walked out the door after that one statement. Naruto didn't even notice, due to him talking now to himself.

Sasuke inhaled deeply, still with his eyes closed. When he exhaled, it was shaky. For once, he was rather glad that Naruto was a distracted person. No doubt Sasuke looked a little weak at the moment, and that's the last thing he would ever want to be in front of a person. He shoved the sick feeling back down into his stomach, then stood up slowly so as to keep it there. "I'll…be back in a minute, Naruto." He walked away, noticing that Naruto was still talking to himself. 'At least he won't miss me,' was the singular, gloomy thought that Sasuke managed to think on that long mile to the door.

Naruto eventually looked up, realizing that he had been ranting again. Before he could apologize, he noticed that Sasuke and Shino were both gone. He looked around for them, but they weren't in the room. But he did see that Sasuke had left his folders in the room. Naruto leaned over to read a part that had been highlighted. 'If there is a line and a point not on the line, then there is exactly one line through the point perpendicular to the given line.'

…

"How does he understand this?"

**:: ::**

"I'm out."

Sasuke inhaled sharply. "Already?" He shook his head in disbelief. "You're shitting me, Shino. You had some just yesterday. There's no way…" He trailed off, worriedly looking at Shino.

Shino, unmoved by how much this news affected Sasuke. Perhaps he had gotten used to it over the years. "You didn't have the money for it. I sold them to someone else. It's simple business, Sasuke."

Sasuke shook his head, pushing his bangs out of his face. "I… I only had one left." He looked back at Shino, waiting for a response. When he didn't get one, he carried on, "I used it this morning."

Shino shrugged indifferently. "Despite what you may believe, I can't get them back once they're sold."

Sasuke bit his lower lip, becoming very desperate. "When will you get some more?"

"To tell you the truth, I won't." Sasuke went oddly cold. "You're the only real profit I get off of them, Sasuke. You don't buy them enough for me to continue getting them. Why should I, when I could spend the money on something more people would be interested in?"

"Then what the hell am I supposed to do? Find someone else to buy it from?" Sasuke was close to panicking. He didn't want to risk finding someone else. Shino was a rather good person, besides what society would think. Others like him… Well, they were a completely different story.

Shino sighed, and seemed to take a thoughtful pause. "I…might have something else that would help."

Sasuke took a deep breath, calming himself down. "What is it?"

"It's stronger than what you're already on, Sasuke. It'll be quite a bit more expensive." Shino seemed to be evading Sasuke's answer, which only made the Uchiha more curious.

And more wary.

"… What is it?"

**:: ::**

Sasuke stormed back into the classroom, slamming the door behind him. He sat down, then turned to glare out of the window next to him. His fingers drummed violently on his desk, an odd action for the usually calm-ish raven-haired boy. Naruto wisely chose to leave him alone, though it was obvious something was seriously bothering him. An unusually large yawn hit Sasuke, then he went straight back to his severe anger look.

Shino watched Sasuke storm back into his classroom, and didn't even flinch when the door slammed. He simply turned, walking away.

_"Who do you think I am? I don't need that!" Sasuke shouted._

No feelings of worry ever even threatened to writhe its way into Shino's brain. He knew for a fact that Sasuke would come looking for him soon enough.

**:: ::**

The rest of the day went by like a bad memory to Sasuke. He could not recall speaking to anyone, or if anyone even tried to communicate with him. He did his work while paying no attention to it, and the teachers sounded like a bad recording in the background of his world. His brain finally started taking things in correctly once the school day came to an end, and he was almost shocked to find himself waiting in the parking lot for his brother.

'Need to focus,' was the only thing Sasuke could make himself think. He shook his head in an attempt to snap out of whatever was affecting him; afterwards, he noticed Itachi was walking towards the car, waving goodbye to one of his friends.

When Itachi reached the car, he smiled weakly at Sasuke while holding back a yawn. He skipped the small talk – Sasuke thanked him for this telepathically – and unlocked the car before climbing into the driver's seat. Sasuke followed his example, deeper in thought than most would believe possible for a boy his age.

Later, Sasuke would remember that Itachi attempted several times at conversation. He would also remember his aniki inquiring as to why he was being ignored, and that his nii-san had given him a rather hurt look – this was a rare thing to happen, seeing as hurt was an emotion and his beloved brother seemed against sharing his feelings with anyone in this world.

Everything went right passed the young teen though. His uncle's ranting didn't faze him; when called for dinner, he stayed in his room; even when there was a knock at his door, he simply stayed on his bed, unable to even pretend to care.

Eventually, deep in the night, Sasuke finally stirred. He groaned loudly and buried his head deep into his pillow, banging his fists into it a few times to vent. After this, he turned his head to allow breathing, and sighed heavily. Feeling uncomfortably hot, he stripped his school clothing off and tossed his shoes across the room. He pulled his naked legs up under his chin and stared at the wall opposite of him.

"What have you got yourself into, Sasuke?" He frowned, thinking about what had happened between him and Shino earlier that day. "What happened to having it all under control?"

He shook his head at himself, "I have it under control. I just…it will be just fine. You'll see…" He uncurled himself and, deciding to sleep as he was (it was too hot for clothes anyway), crawled under his covers, pulling the sheet up over his head before situating himself to where he could breathe again. His eyelids drooped lazily, and he yawned once before allowing them to close. The last coherent thought in his slipping mind was the one that showed how frightening that day had truly been.

'What am I going to do now…?'

**:: ::**

In case no one has noticed, I don't really like to describe how people look. That's because I'm not very good at it…so, if you ever get curious, just look them up. Just thought I might add that…


	8. Chapter 7 Complications

Here's another chapter, just for you guys. Once more, I don't own Naruto (even if I did, it wouldn't have been nearly as amazing). I do hope you enjoy this one, and I am sorry it took so long to write/type up. X3 and thanks sooooo much the reviews! They made me very happy with life, and really did help with my lack of motivation.

I do apologize for deleting the majority of this story for a while. The e-mail I was using for this account was hacked, and I was worried that they would hack this account like they had everything else. However, I managed to switch e-mail addresses! XP Take that, hackers! Besides, to make it up to you, I have not only brought back the old chapters but also brought you a brand-new, previously owned 2-Star masterpiece! (If you can't laugh at yourself, you have no right to laugh at anything)

Anyway, without further ado, here it is: The newest chapter! X3 Hope you like, Nya~

**:: ::**

**Chapter 7 – Complications**

~ 2 Days Later ~

Sasuke had never felt so sick in his life. It wasn't a normal sickness; no, not a physical one. It wasn't a mental sickness either.

It was want.

Need…

**:: ::**

After that Wednesday, Sasuke had rummaged throughout his room for what he needed. He was lucky – was he really? – enough to find it. It had lasted him one more night; after that night, he had nothing.

It was sheer luck – or was it something darker than luck…? – that had kept anyone from seeing that something was wrong with him. He would randomly start shivering, when he felt hot all over; his nose had never been this runny before, and it felt raw from him trying to stop it; he had barely slept, (though he had to admit his bags weren't as big as his brother's, who seemed to always be staying up to study for something); and his palms were constantly sweating, making him drop nearly everything he picked up.

That Friday morning found him staring up at his ceiling, wishing that sleep had at least visited him for a few moments. Too soon, he heard his brother's alarm clock go off. A loud yawn outside of his door soon followed as his nii-san made his way downstairs to more than likely make breakfast. Sasuke waited longer than normal, closing his eyes as tightly as he could in a pathetic attempt to get some rest. 'Damn you, Shino…'

'Is it really his fault, Sasuke…?'

Several soft knocks at his door got Sasuke's attention, and he verbally responded to him while keeping his eyes closed. "It is time for you to get up now, ot-" His word was interrupted by what sounded like a yawn, but he continued anyway, "I have made breakfast for us, the food is on the table."

"Bye, kids! Have fun at schoo~~~~~~~~l!" Sasuke heard his uncle's car door slam shut and drive away. He sighed, waiting a little longer for his brother to go downstairs, then got up and went straight to the bathroom with a fresh change of clothes. He jumped into the shower, freezing water sending shivers down his back and waking up his sore body. He scrubbed quickly, then toweled off as best he could before throwing on his school uniform and rushing down the stairs, looking forward to some food before heading off.

He could have killed his nii-san.

Itachi grabbed another icing-covered cinnamon roll, offering the plate full to Sasuke as he bit into his own. After receiving a glare from his younger brother, Itachi wisely put the plate back onto the table. He watched his little brother grab a handful of small-ish tomatoes off of the counter instead while finishing his own breakfast before heading outside.

They managed to make it to school several minutes earlier than usual, so the cafeteria was relatively empty. A few of their friends happened to be there already, as well as a few fan girls of Sasuke's. Sakura was the one who noticed him first, and she quickly jumped up and waved in his direction with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. Sasuke simply ignored her and followed his brother to their usual table, where Naruto was already sitting waiting to talk to him.

"Hey Sasuke! Did you finish last night's math homework? It was suuuuper hard; so hard, my dad couldn't even figure it out. Or maybe I was distracting him too much; anyway, did you finish it? 'Cause I really don't want another 0 in that class, I don't think my grade needs to be that low already. It's the beginning of the year, and I'm already failing! Please tell me you at least started it, that's farther than I got with it. Or is it further? I'm not even good at speaking my own language, how do they suspect me to know the math stuff? That's a whole other language! I'm soooo going to fail that class, you have to he-"

"Yes, Naruto! For fuck's sake, I finished the damn work! Just take it and shut the hell up!" Sasuke, having reached his final nerve, quite literally threw his math folder at Naruto. He didn't bother even acting like he cared when all of his papers went flying out of it; instead, he gathered the rest of the shit he was forced to carry everywhere and stormed out of the cafeteria as quickly as possible – screaming "Shut the Fuck Up!" very angrily at the fangirls who tried to speak to him – heading towards the library, the only safe-haven he believed existed in the hell hole he was in.

Itachi had not even been able to sit down before witnessing his otouto explosive tantrum. He felt rather confused after seeing it, and also felt a very familiar trickle of brotherly worry creep over him. He stood next to the table his own folders were pilled on top of, shifting his weight from leg to leg, trying to decide whether to chase after Sasuke. He glanced back at his otouto's back, watching him scream at the fangirls and slam the cafeteria door shot, and then shook his head.

Making his decision final, he gathered his own stuff and followed in his brother's footsteps – muttering an apology while walking passed Naruto, saying that he was sure his brother didn't mean anything by it and that he was simply in a bad mood this morning. He had to stop himself from doing the same for the fangirls, mentally reminding himself of when one of them had Sasuke cornered in the bathroom the year before.

When he reached the outside of the cafeteria, Itachi looked down both hallways for any trace of his brother. When he found none, he frowned slightly with dissatisfaction. Pondering for a split second, he made an educated guess and turned to his right.

**:: ::**

Itachi's intuition paid off, as usual. He walked in to the library, much to Sasuke's horror when he would notice him. He had foolishly gone in there to find some sort of peace, though he knew he would find none in his current state. He had found the usually warm book room to be freezing and wished he had brought a jacket of some sort with him to school that day – though he found it quite odd that it was cold in there, seeing that the rest of the school was burning. It was unusual; then again, things were becoming stranger for him daily.

Sasuke was sitting at a table, shivering, when he noticed his aniki open the double doors to the library. He sniffed a little, pulling his legs up close to his torso in an attempt to keep warm. He looked away from Itachi, pretending to ignore him ('How can I ignore someone who controls my thoughts more than I do? I swear, next I'll be hearing _his_ voice in my head.') when something only slightly heavy dropped onto his shoulders.

"You look cold, Sasuke," Itachi purred into Sasuke's ear while running his hands down Sasuke's back slowly, making him shiver out of…? "Shall I help you with that?" Sasuke gasped slightly, feeling his aniki's hands working their way to the front of his body, lightly brushing over his chest. Sasuke leaned back into his chair to allow his brother to… touch him? Sasuke shook his head, and then turned quickly to look up at…?

"Sasuke? Would you like to have my jacket? I am not cold, and I noticed that you were shivering quite badly." Itachi tilted his head to the right only slightly, 'Which is actually… Cute? What the hell brain…' Sasuke touched his shoulder, trying to find the jacket that had been dropped there to pull it closer, hoping it would work better if it was situated differently…

Only one problem: It wasn't there.

"Here," Itachi held out his jacket to Sasuke. The latter mentioned just stared at it, looking even paler than he normally did. The elder brother frowned, "Are… Are you not cold?"

"…. Yeah, I'm cold." Sasuke took the jacket from Itachi, slipping it around his shoulders. It was the same jacket that had been on his shoulders mere seconds ago…hadn't it? 'I felt it there…and I heard Itachi, and had felt…' Sasuke couldn't have brought himself to finish that sentence even if he had wanted to. 'Why would he do…' The young teenager fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably, 'Well, what he did…? It was almost a little…

'Sexy?'

A deep, warm chuckle came from his right. "It is only my jacket, Sasuke; you do not have to get embarrassed about wearing it. If someone asks, just tell them you were cold."

"I'M NOT EMBARRASSED!"

Itachi lightly tussled Sasuke's hair, "You know, you are so cute." He then turned and started out the door.

"Hey! Get back here and take that back!"

"If you get embarrassed by wearing your nii-san's jacket, I would stop pouting. That would more than lik-"

"I AM NOT POUTING!" Sasuke grabbed his stuff, getting ready to head to his first block class. When he turned, the door was just then closing behind his aniki. And, though he would never admit it to anyone, he couldn't hold back just one smile, completely content with finally feeling like he had a brother again.

His choice to cherish this moment was indeed a wise one. As he would later find out, this was the last time he was ever able to feel this way.

**:: ::**

Itachi's first block was uneventful – in a way. They, once again, skipped out on learning any real calculus and did something random and unimportant to his schooling – and his second block was looking as if it would be the same. He doodled (almost unlike him to do something so meaningless on a piece of paper) and stared off, waiting vainly for his English teacher to come to class.

"_When my time comes_

_Forget the wrong that I've done_

_Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed"_

Itachi was unaccustomed to ever receiving any calls on his cell phone, and it took him a while to realize that it was indeed his cell phone going off. He patted his pockets, attempting to locate the hardly-useful device.

"_Don't resent me and when you're feeling empty"_

'Finally,' Itachi sighed, flipping open the phone.

"_Keep me in your memory, leave out all the rest_

_Leave out all the rest"_

So unused to answering his cell phone, he had forgotten that flipping it open did not answer the calls. At last, he realized this and answered the call, not checking who it was. 'No doubt, something 'urgent' has come up with uncle. I wonder what he has forgotten how to do?' Still, though he was certain nothing really important was going to be said from the other line, he politely answered the caller and inquired as to what the reason was for them contacting him.

"I-Itachi…? Are, well, don't mean to be a bother, not seen you in a while, saw your number, don't remember why I haven't called before now, not like I've been busy or anything, umm… Do you have a minute?"

Itachi's breath caught in his throat, keeping him from responding as quickly as he had hoped to. "…Shisui?" 'Could it really be him?'

"Yeah. Sorry for calling, don't mean to bother you or anything, just needed to talk is all, not that I expect to take up too much of your time, nothing like that, just wanted someone to talk to, you were the first person to pop up."

'Is he really rambling about…nothing?' Itachi composed himself, shoving down the shock that came from the call. He never expected Shisui to contact him again. 'Not after…'

"Anyway, Itachi, I know you must be really busy, studying and all, probably in college by now or something, but still I was wondering, how about, well you don't have to, but it would be nice if you could, maybe at least consider doing this, for old time-"

"Shisui, I am afraid I am in class right now. If you do not spit it out now, I will have to call you back later. I do not have all day to stay on the phone." 'So many 'I's in that sentence. Since when did I turn so damned selfish?'

"I-I guess I was just wondering…could you come over and talk? I haven't moved or anything, so you should still be able to locate me…if you have time…"

_'I still remember what happened last time…_' "Shisui…is it urgent?"

"Yes."

_'I should not trust you.'_ "…I…will be there soon."

Itachi got up and gathered up his books. He walked out of the classroom, knowing full well that he would not be missed. The teacher would not enter the class that block, and possibly not even for third block. He put his things in his locker, and made his way to the parking lot.

"I will be back before you can even know to miss me…" Itachi was unsure why he muttered this, for he knew the person who was meant to hear it was far away, studying and learning in the Pre-Calculus classroom, doing the right thing by not leaving suddenly without a word to his own brother.

_'But, for some reason, I cannot bring myself to not try and help you...'_

**:: ::**

Sasuke sat in second block, chewing his pencil violently. "Naruto, if you don't understand simple math, WHY DID YOU EVER SIGN UP FOR THIS DAMN CLASS?"

"I didn't have a choice! Dad really wanted me to!"

"Get off of me, idiot! And stop fucking crying!" After successfully shoving the hysterical blonde off of himself, Sasuke straightened up his shirt and went back to his own homework, ignoring Naruto's desperate pleas for help, chewing on his pencil even more angrily than before.

Sasuke rubbed his temples, attempting to make the words and numbers appear more clearly. 'Not this again…' He closed his eyes tightly, deciding that resting them for a few seconds might make them work a bit better. 'I guess I know how nii-san feels now. Does he see like this everyday?' He chewed harder on his pencil, trying vainly to force the fatigue out of his body.

"Sasssssukeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Sasuke winced at the loud scream echoing through his brain. 'Of course, having a fucking blonde screaming at you doesn't help your self-control…'

Naruto clung to Sasuke's arm, as if letting go would mean certain death for the entire world, "I'll die if you don't help me! I'm dooooooooommmmmmmmeeeeeeedd! I need you! Help meeeeee! WAAAAA!"

**SNNAAP!**

"Hey, Sasu-chan, I think you just broke your pencil," Suigetsu leaned on Sasuke's shoulders, smirking in amusement as Sasuke spat out the wood chips. He pinched the raven-haired boy's cheeks, laughing as the said boy waved him away and spitting out what Sasuke thought would be an intimidating threat. 'How cute can one person be, eh?'

"Asuma, I'm going to the bathroom," Sasuke left the classroom, not bothering with asking permission from the appointed authority figure. Asuma let him go, knowing that stopping him would only cause trouble.

**:: ::**

Sasuke rinsed out his mouth thoroughly, half noticing that the water turned a little pink from blood. At the moment, Sasuke was more focused on attempting to stay awake. Fatigue was sneaking up on him again, and it was getting harder and harder to ignore it. With a deep sigh, the boy sank to the filthy floor, resting his head on his small legs in hopes of finding some rest and peace.

**:: ::**

_"Mommy, why can't I make it?" The little boy pouted, watching his mother open the can of soup he had begged for the whole ride home, "I've watched you do it like a bazillion times. I can do it!"_

_ "Sweetheart, you know you're not allowed to use the stove." The mother ruffled the boy's hair lovingly while pouring the can's contents into a pot and turning the stove eye on, "When you're older, you'll be able to. But, for now, why don't you let mother cook it for you. Besides," she leaned down, pinching the boy's cheeks, "You know no one else knows how to put so much love into the soup."_

_ "I know, I know," The boy rubbed his cheeks, pouting and pretending like he didn't love the attention._

**:: ::**

Shino shook his head at the pathetic form in front of him. He stepped forward, picking the teen up. 'I have offered, have I not?' He sighed ever so quietly that only he would be able to notice the gesture, 'They can be so stupid at times. Then again, it might be too much for him to handle.'

Shino carried the teen out to his own car, putting him in the front passenger seat. After buckling the boy in, he made his way to the driver's seat, buckling himself in and starting the car. 'He's so exhausted he hasn't even noticed he's been moved yet. Well, he needs this anyway. There's no turning back for him now.' He put the car in reverse, leaving the school parking lot behind the both of them. The highway was rather empty and, with no police cars in sight, the driver decided speeding wasn't going to be too bad of a decision.

The driver glanced over at the teen next to him, whose head was resting against the window. He noted that, even in his sleep, this troubled boy never did look peaceful. 'Yeah, there never was any turning back for you, was there? Not from the start of this.'

**:: ::**

Not as long as the chapter before it, but this seemed like the best place to end it to me. The next chapter is in progress already, don't worry. X3 I'll have it up much faster than you would ever imagine! Well… I'll take much less time for the next one than I did for this one anyway…

Review onegai! I'd like to know how I've been doing. It took much time and effort to get this far, and I need some sort of feed-back to know how to best improve. X3 Much love to you all!


	9. Chapter 8 So Different, Yet the Same

Do not own Naruto; do not want to. Also, the lyrics in the last chapter were from _Leave Out All the Rest, _a song by Linkin Park. Obviously, since it's not by me, I do not own the lyrics, music, cd or band. Nor do I want to, because I would fuck up everything (seeing as the only instruments I can play are the baritone and saxophone : / )

Fore warning: If you do not like the idea of people taking drugs, stop reading now. **There will be drug use/abuse/misuse** (whatever; I get the difference, I just don't care) beginning in this chapter and until…well, there's going to be drugs in here for a while. You've been warned. Also, btw, by the end of this story **there will be ItaSasu. **If you don't like that stuffs (**yaoi, incest, sexual scenes** and stuffs of that nature), you have also been warned; there will also be things such as **rape **and a possibility of some **theft and under aged drinking/smoking. **However, I will warn you again at the start of those chapters and right before hand in the actual chapter itself (for the major things like sex scenes, anyway). Any other couples will be announced later too, for I have not thought this story out entirely…it's a working progress. Apparently a slow working progress...sorry for that...

**:: ::**

**Chapter 9 – So Different, Yet the Same**

Itachi was not used to driving during this time of day, and was quite shocked to discover that barely a soul was out on the road. He hardly had to glance behind him when attempting to change lanes, and found that he often sat alone at stop lights. He figured that the majority of the moderately small population was, at this time, at school, home or work; 'In other words, where they are supposed to be.'

He drove in silence the whole way, not allowing himself the comfort of music.

After only a short time, he arrived at the house he was searching for. He had never actually driven himself out to this destination; the last time he had been here, he was not exactly old enough to have a license. His father had been the one to take him – Itachi flinched as the memory brought the too familiar pain with it – and that had been quite a few years ago. The driveway was getting rather warn, the cause no doubt due to the owner no longer bothering to put more gravel down. The grass grew wild in some parts, as if mirroring the change within the people around it, and garbage littered the yard as frequent as dandelions: Beer cans, plastic of all shapes and sizes, soda cans, water bottles, cigarettes.

Itachi pulled up to the house, shutting off his car. The sleek, black Mustang looked entirely out of place where it sat, it's surroundings shouting out to the eyes "Unclean!"

For everything – every living creature that dared to walk here – truly was that. Unclean.

The first porch step creaked, causing Itachi to flinch back. He had never been fond of steps, no matter how few in number they were. They always brought back terrible memories…but now was not the time to be remembering them. He forced – for he had to do just that, literally force himself to walk up those four steps onto the porch – himself up the steps, dodging the bottles and other trash items while making his way to the front door, his OCD screaming out to him to run away from the chaos around him. He went to knock at first, but thought otherwise when he noticed that the door was actually open already. 'Shisui…was expecting me. I see no reason to not head inside.'

With that, and a final mental note that this was indeed the correct and 'Itachi' thing to do1, he attempted to push open the door lightly.

And failed.

A few shoves and a good amount of elbow grease later, he managed to pry the door open enough to let himself in. A quick glance behind the door told Itachi that Shisui had thrown a party the night before, and a few guests were still past out in various places on the floor. He frowned as he looked around, his eyes being greeted by a place that had been in need of cleaning for quite some time now. Not sure of where the smells that were currently assaulting his nostrils came from, and not quite wanting to know, he quickly found the safest trail through the jungle in search of the head tiger. Only after searching the entire house did the poor teen notice that the person in question was actually outside on the back porch. He sighed, pushing open the door to the back porch. He stopped for a moment, resisting the urge to once again see everything he had eaten that day, taking in deep breaths as he pushed his bangs out of his face, noting only subconsciously that his hands were shaking. Once he was sure that everything would stay down, he glanced over at his cousin – who was just now noticing that Itachi was there – hesitant to move in case the ill feeling came back, and still not completely convinced that seeing Shisui was the best thing for his mental health.

"Oh, Itachi. You've…gotten taller." Itachi turned to his right; the man looking back at him was hardly a man at all. The once muscular frame stood frail in front of him, the clothing that would once have fit him tightly at one time hung off of his body. The bones in his face were becoming noticeable, his fingernails broken and dirty, hair obviously not taken care of, and his eyes both glazed over as if he could not see what was in front of him and also frantically darting back and forth, as if constantly searching for things that were never there yet permanently etched into the back of his eyes so that they were never gone either.

"…Shisui?"

**:: ::**

Sasuke rolled over, shielding his eyes from the sun by pulling the sheets up over his head. He vaguely thought over the idea that the sun was slowly getting closer to the earth, seeing that it was so bright that early in the morning. 'I can't even hear Itachi up yet…why the hell is it so fucking bright outside?' He shrugged it off mentally, deciding that the best way to figure out why it was so bright was to sleep on it.

'Then again, something's odd…' Sasuke frowned, staring deep in thought at the back of his eye lids, 'I could have sworn that my sheets were a dark blue…not black. Maybe it's the lighting.' He peeked out of one eye to confirm his sheet's color, but had to frown deeper, 'I also don't remember such a bright room. Maybe Madara took down my curtains again.' He yawned, stretched, then finally sat up, planning on heading downstairs to argue with his uncle about how often his curtains needed to be washed, when he at last took a good look at his surroundings.

"Hello, Sasuke," Shino walked into his own room, almost surprised that Sasuke was already awake, "Awake so soon?"

The boy in question frowned, looking a bit nervous about where he was. After all, it wasn't every day that he passed out in the school bathroom and woke up in someone else's bed.

"The bathroom wasn't the best place to rest," Shino stated simply, then walked across the room, staring intently at something on his dresser – at least, that was Sasuke's best guess at what he was doing. The teen wrapped his arms around his legs, sitting and waiting for the mysterious prick to continue.

'… What the hell?' "So you just decided to bring me to your house instead?" 'This is feeling like the beginning of some horror movie or something, where the popular kid everyone loves goes missing and is never seen or heard from again.' Sasuke shuddered, pulling his legs closer to his torso. "I really should get back you know. Classes and such."

"It's been too late. You realize that now, don't you?" Shino didn't budge, which only made the shiver going down Sasuke's spine increase in intensity. He sighed heavily, wondering what the hell Shino was talking about. Unless...

'Oh shit.' Sasuke's eyes widened in fear, realization hitting him. 'Unless he's more than just a normal drug dealer! He's probably brought me here to drug me! Of course!' Panic setting in now, Sasuke jerked his head up to stare at his captor, 'I'm such an easy target. With my natural beauty and undeniable sex appeal, I'd be the perfect person to sell for unspeakable deeds! I should have seen this coming! I mean, who isn't interested in me? He'll probably have his -'

"Sasuke, I do hope you'll forgive me. I do hate conflict." Shino walked swiftly over to the bed, carrying a white bag. With swift movements that Sasuke didn't know he was capable of, Shino pulled out a needle and a bottle.

'Oh FUCK!' "Hell no, Shino!" Sasuke shot out of bed, backing towards the door to the bedroom, "There's no way I'll let you sell me to some random guy in a dark alley! Did you think I would just lay there, completely oblivious-"

"Sell you in a dark alley? I'm not sure what that has to do-"

"-and then just throw me away? You disgust me! Honestly, the drugs were one thing, but _slaves?_ There's something seriously wrong with you!"

Shino sighed deeply. "Sasuke. I'm not going to sell you. For one, I'm not going to be the one who deals with your brother when you go missing."

Sasuke flinched at the mention of his brother. 'What would he think, seeing me like this?' He felt a hot flash coming on, so proceeded to sit down in the floor.

"Sasuke," said person looked up, discomfort being the dominant feeling dancing across his face, "There was never a way to avoid this. You know that, right?" Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes against the intensifying heat, knowing the only way to get rid of all of this. Only one way to stop the craving, the hot flashes, cold chills, insistent yawning and lack of sleep, the guilt.

And only one way to forget about...

Shino handed the bag down after placing its former contents within it, 'And I have a much better way of making money off of you.'

**:: ::**

Itachi drove back to school just in time for the final bell to ring. He got out of the car and leaned nonchalantly against it, hoping that Sasuke wouldn't question how he had reached the car so quickly. Pinching the bridge of his nose to push back a headache, he thought about how dangerous it had been for him to ditch without informing at least Sasuke about it. 'Then again, I am certain Sasuke would not be much help if something _had _happened while I was there.'

A door slammed shut, surprising Itachi when it moved the car he was leaning on. He looked in his window to confirm it, and sighed. 'Sasuke still does not want to talk to anyone, I see.' The elder brother climbed into the driver's seat, cursing his older self for not enjoying his little brother's company more when he was a chatter box.

**:: ::**

Madara pulled into his driveway, late for dinner as usual. His head was pounding from a close-to-migrane, no doubt to him brought on by those damned pills that Itachi would practically shove down his throat with the help of that no-good funnel of his. It's not like he actually needed them anyway. So what, he was a bit peculiar without them. And sometimes he lapsed into what they believed to be another personality entirely, with its own thought patterns and emotional basis and all that crap. It's not like he didn't know exactly what was going on in his head. He controlled everything that happened, he just also happened to want different things than normal during those random moments that could last for weeks without an end in sight. He always switched back, even if just for a minute sometimes. And so what if these events were completely random and could not ever be predicted even if science developed 100 years faster than it was supposed to. It still didn't mean he had to have pills to "balance him out"...

Those thoughts aside, he opened his door, preparing to be glared at and ignored by the two most important people in his life. Sadly, it seemed as if pain was quite attracted to him that day. As soon as his foot had solid contact, burning, stabbing pain shot up his leg.

His first reaction? Kick whatever was hurting him. Logical enough; however, as he was in mid-kick, he realized what exactly it was that was hurting him. Try as he might though, once his leg started kicking there was no stopping its destination. So it was to his utter horror that he was to then witness Itachi's beloved cat Kisa flying through the air, pant material still clutched in its claws from the defense of the cat's now squashed tail2.

Madara then spent the next half hour trying to get the dumb thing out of the bushes. He even slunk inside for some tuna – which it really was a miracle that he managed that, since both of the boys were usually eating in the kitchen by this time. Then again, it was pretty normal for Sasuke to be in his room. Itachi, however, was being rather unusual by not knowing everything that was going on. Madara shrugged, figuring there was a first time for everything.

Madara stopped trying to force the tuna upon the accursed cat, momentarily wondering why he was thinking in paragraph formation, in third person, and in a way that would explain not only his own actions but the actions of his beloved nephews – then a loud hiss rang through his ears, and warm blood trickled down his hand from the 15th cut that he had received that day, causing him to, of course, toss the tuna can up into the air.

For the second time that night, he watched in horror as something flew through the air. Tuna spilling everywhere, but conveniently for irony and coincidence's sakes only landing in Madara's hair and on his face. But he had to ignore all of that discomfort and repulsion to focus on the metal can's destination.

And, of course, it just had to land right on Kisa's head. Brilliant.

But, on a bright side, the cat was now out of the bushes. Madara smirked in triumph as he walked toward the cat, finally seeing an end to this terrible adventure. That is, until it decided to run very slightly sideways away from him, right into the road.

One good thought stuck in Madara's mind as he slowly made his way inside after watching Itachi's most beloved and treasured possession be flattened by a semi: Well, at least I know what to get him for his birthday.

Madara tried his hardest to tell Itachi about the series of unfortunate happenings that had lead to the demise of his beloved Kisa, but could never seem to bring himself to do so. Everything was just against Itachi knowing that his cat was gone forever, never to return to scratch Madara's face or bite Sasuke anymore, and certainly not to climb up the trees and jump in Itachi's window in the middle of the night to curl up and sleep with him. Madara tried, and tried, but it really wasn't his fault he could never get it out. How was he supposed to tell Itachi when the house just so happened to be filthy? Yeah, so what that he hadn't noticed the night before, it's not like he was going to leave it so dirty. And it certainly wasn't his fault that he wanted to work overtime as often as possible, or to start using a dry-cleaner who happened to be a few hours away from the house, and that he kept hooking up with friends and old acquaintances - it's not like it was his fault when he kept running in to people (so what if he had looked them up and had told them where he would be that day?) - the fact was that the world and universe just did not want Itachi to know what had happened to Kisa.

A few weeks later, however, his overtime was shot. There was no more work to be done, so he had to stay home for a few days.

'Oh well. It's just a few days. I'll just clean the house, keep the yard nice and tidy, then do a bit of laundry and the days should just fly by in no time,' Madara smiled, stretching for a while before climbing out of bed and downstairs to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Uncle," Itachi didn't bother looking up from his paperwork, too busy. Madara grunted, remembering why exactly he didn't want to talk to Itachi.

'Though I suppose I should,' Madara thought, opening the fridge on the daily adventure for food, 'Then again, this fridge is filthy. I wonder how much food in here has gone bad...? Well, no time to talk if there's rotting food in here. Someone could get sick if they accidentally ingested it!'

"Uncle, where did you last see the tape?"

"Uhhhh, probably in my room, on the side table. Why?" Madara started pulling things out of the fridge that he thought might be a health hazard, then also noticed that the shelves could use a bath. 'Might as well clean them too. No reason to be half-assed about it.' He put the food containers down on the table, then looked around for Itachi. He frowned when he didn't spot his nephew in the kitchen. 'I feel as if he should be here... Can't for the life of me remember why though.' Grunting again, he turned back to the fridge and began to pull it apart from the inside. 'Oh well. I have work to do.'

The shelves and drawers were all easy to pull out. Just lift and pull, lift and pull. Until the last one, which was completely against being removed from its current position. Madara sighed, pushing his bangs out of his face. 'You've got to be kidding me. It's stuck?' He grunted, sticking his head under the shelf to see what was keeping it there.

"The tape was not on the side table."

Madara's head shot up, making contact with the shelf in question. Good news: The shelf popped right out with no damage; the bad news: Madara now felt like his head was unfix-able. He stood back up straight, rubbing his head to make sure there was no blood or anything like that. 'Nope. Just a huge knot that will be there for the rest of my damn life.' He glared at his nephew, who just stood there calmly, holding out the shelf that had popped out. Madara took it, putting it in the sink with all the rest of them. "Well, if it's not there, I don't know what to tell you."

"It was on top of your dresser," Itachi turned back to his paperwork that was still laying on the table.

Madara frowned, looking at the back of his nephew's head, "You went into my room? That's a little private, you know. I'm pretty sure you're not allowed in there."

"If you are only _pretty sure_, how am _I _supposed to know if I can or not?"

Madara opened his mouth to talk, but found he had no response to something he didn't understand. He thought about it for a minute, then winced at the pressure that thinking put on his already damaged head. He decided to distract himself with conversation, since that always seemed to help people who didn't want to think about other things. "What did you need tape for?"

Itachi picked up the stack of papers he had been working with, organizing them to his liking, "I have decided to put up fliers around the town. I called around this morning to make sure it was all right with everyone, so I am going to be gone for a while. I believe Sasuke went to stay with a friend last night, so you will have the house to yourself. If you need anything, I will have my cell phone on me." Itachi picked up the tape and started to put on his jacket.

Madara huffed. "I don't like your tone. You're acting like _you're _the one raising _me_. Have you forgotten which of us is the elder?" At Itachi's silence, he decided to go on, "And what's with you knowing about Sasuke more than me? Shouldn't he have told _me_ where he was going last night?"

Itachi sighed, putting on his shoes and fishing his keys out of his pocket, "He told you a week ago, and you agreed to it. It is not his fault you do not remember."

With a single "Huh", Madara decided to let that one go. "So, are the fliers a school project or something?"

Itachi frowned, momentarily losing the expressionless face that he always wore. "No." He handed Madara one of the fliers, "Kisa has gone missing. I was hoping that, if someone saw one of these fliers, they would bring him home." Itachi stopped getting ready to leave, staring at a picture of his cat on a flier. To most people, it would seem as if he was merely studying the paper; however, to the two people in the universe that halfway knew Itachi, it would be clear that he was indeed being emotional. Well, as emotional as an utterly monotonous person could ever be.

"So, Itachi... What do you think is in this cabinet?" Madara quickly moved away from that awkward atmosphere, opening a cabinet that had not been touched to his knowledge in at least 7 months.

"That is where you keep all of the important documentation. Insurance, the deed to your house, our birth certificates, the like." Madara heard the door open, then Itachi add, "I am leaving now. Sasuke may or may not be back before me. And do not forget to take your medicine while I am gone." The door shut, followed by a big sigh from Madara.

'I can't believe I ended up killing his cat...' Madara rummaged through the cabinet, deciding that organizing the papers was a better chore than washing out the fridge that had tried to kill him with brain damage.

After about a half hour of organizing documents to show to Itachi – since Madara wasn't sure what to keep or throw away, and he just assumed that Itachi would know better than he would – he found some rather old documentation. After scanning them a bit, he frowned rather sadly. The documents were from around the time of the deaths of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, Sasuke and Itachi's parents. They weren't completely filled out, so they obviously had never been mailed anywhere. It seemed as if it was a way for the two brothers to go to counseling for 4 months, no charge.

Madara sighed sadly, remembering what the poor kids had been through. He looked around slightly, then noticed a pencil. 'Well, better late than never,' Madara thought, filling out the rest of the documents.

**:: ::**

1 Pretty much, a younger Sasuke used to always say that Itachi was the nicest, most selfless person in the world…well, not in those exact words, but in a way that a young child would (i.e. with much smaller words). In short, Itachi was thinking that, by helping Shisui, he was being the brother that Sasuke would always want and love. Sweet thoughts, no?

2 I want to make this very clear: **I do not condone the abuse of animals**. I love animals; I actually have a cat named Kisa, who I love very much. And, even though he only tolerates me and hates pretty much everyone else, I would never kick or hurt him in anyway, nor would I allow someone else to hurt him. And I would cry if he got ran over by anything.

Don't do drugs, kids. They're bad for you. Also, don't sell drugs. And eat your vegetables.


End file.
